Big congratulations to Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson as he won the Sportsperson of the Year award at the 60th Oregon Sports Awards last night. I'm not quite sure on the qualifications of such an award, but it's a great accomplishment nonetheless.
Interestingly enough it looks like Merritt Paulson was the first person to receive the award for soccer since Clive Charles won it in 2002 and only the third person (and fourth time overall) somebody from the world of soccer has taken home the award since it's was created in 1957. So that's quite a momentous achievement. He's also only the second non-coach to get the award.
The press release also held some updated info on STHs:
Leading into their second MLS season, the Timbers achieved more than a 97 percent renewal rate on season tickets and quickly reached their expanded cap of 14,750 season tickets available for 2012. Additionally, the team has a Season Ticket Waiting List that numbers more than 6,500 fans.
When factoring in the added STH cap it appears that the waiting list has grown by almost 4,000 since last November.
Anyway, big congrats to Merritt. I can't think of a better person for the award as he is very committed to the team and making a name for the Timbers in Portland and nationally.