Alberta Park has big plans for bike polo
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on February 21st, 2006 at 11:14 pm
The Friends of Alberta Park are loyal supporters of bike polo. They understand that polo players are an asset to the park and the neighborhood and they have been trying to work out an agreement with Portland Parks and Recreation that would allow polo to flourish without the threat of being banned.
Recently, those talks have included not only allowing polo to continue at the park but to make the southeast tennis courts an official venue for the sport.
According to an Axles of Evil spokesman, The Friends of Alberta Park are close to an agreement with the Parks Department to make major improvements to the court specifically for bike polo. These include; new lights, boards around the edge of the court, and official “Bike Polo Court” signage. The Friends have also asked the Axles of Evil to draft a proposal for the Parks Department outlining their needs and desires.
It remains to be seen whether or not polo players will be allowed to have alcoholic beverages (a very contentious topic) but some sort of creative permit doesn’t seem too far-fetched at this point. Stay tuned for more developments.
For more background on the saga of bike polo in Alberta Park, check out these links:
- Portland IndyMedia articles on bike polo.
- Willy Week article about Parks’ ban of polo back in 2004.
- Portland Mercury article from around the same time.
- My experience playing polo in Alberta Park.
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February 22nd, 2006 08:10
Who is the axles spokesman? I don't like the idea of Dabby relaying information at all, much less anything I'm attached to. So according to Rogers "We can accept basketball; it's a known entity. Bike polo isn't." What makes an entity known?
February 22nd, 2006 10:13
Hey ringer, yes I heard about this from Dabby. If you've got other information I'd love to hear from you. You can email or call me anytime.
jonathan@bikeportland.org
(503) 706-8804
As for the Rogers quote...it was said in August '04 so I'm sure he's a bit more well-informed about polo now.
February 22nd, 2006 11:44
Bike polo is a great sport that continues to grow and progress, not only in Portland, but across the world. If Portland Parks and Recreation can embrace and unite with the Axles of Evil on this topic, it would be a step in the right direction.
my .02