Portland Timbers 2016 Regular Season Schedule Released

After a wonderfully short offseason, we now know what the Portland Timbers' schedule will be for the 2016 season. Two weeks after Major League Soccer announced the home openers for every team in the league, MLS has announced the full season's schedule.

With no new teams entering the league in 2016, the Timbers find themselves with the same schedule structure as last season: one game -- half home and half away -- against each team in the Eastern Conference, one home and one away game against each team in the Western Conference, and six additional "rivalry" games against Western Conference teams to bring their total number of matches played up to 34 for the season.

Of the rivalry matches, two are obvious choices as the Timbers will face the Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps three times each, giving MLS nine Cascadia Cup Derby matches once again in 2016. The Timbers will face the Sounders twice at home and the Whitecaps twice on the road, including in the final match of the regular season on October 23rd.

The other teams that the Timbers will face three times over the course of the season are the Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, and the San Jose Earthquakes, leaving the team facing off against the Houston Dynamo, the La Galaxy, and Sporting Kansas City just twice each.

Looking across conference lines, the Timbers will host Eastern Conference the Columbus Crew SC, the Montreal Impact, New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, and Toronto FC while playing away against the Chicago Fire, D.C. United, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, and Orlando City SC over the course of the season.

This year's schedule brings with it a two week break for the Copa America in June, giving every team in the league a quick breather as the summer starts to heat up. For Portland, the busiest stretch of the season comes shortly after that break between July 10th and 23rd, when the Timbers play four games in a fourteen day period.

The Timbers' press release:

TIMBERS ANNOUNCE SCHEDULE FOR 2016 SEASON PRESENTED BY SIMPLE
Club opens sixth MLS campaign with nationally televised match against Columbus Crew SC

PORTLAND, Ore. – Major League Soccer today unveiled the full 34-game, 2016 regular-season schedule for the Portland Timbers. The Timbers kick off the 2016 season presented by Simple with a nationally televised match against Columbus Crew SC on Sunday, March 6, at Providence Park. Portland plays two of its first three matches of the 2016 season at home, also playing host to Real Salt Lake on Saturday, March 19.

Starting on Wednesday, Feb. 24, fans can purchase single-game tickets, starting at $20, for the first half of the season (through June 26) online at www.timbers.com or by calling (888) 736-6849. A special presale for Timbers annual members and members of the Timbers Annual Member Waiting List and corporate partners will take place on Monday, Feb. 22. Single-game tickets for the second half of the season will go on sale in June. Group opportunities for Timbers home matches are available by contacting the Timbers ticket office at (503) 553-5555 or ticketsales@timbers.com. Additional group information can be found at www.timbers.com/tickets.

In 2016, the Timbers will have at least 15 matches featured on national television, including four of the team’s first five matches. Along with the nationally televised home opener on March 6, Portland will feature in nationally televised road matches at San Jose (March 13), Orlando City SC (April 3) and the LA Galaxy (April 10). Nine Timbers home games will be broadcast nationally, including matches at Providence Park against New York City FC (May 15), the LA Galaxy (July 23), Sporting Kansas City (Aug. 7) and Cascadia Cup matches against Vancouver (May 22) and Seattle Sounders FC (July 17, Aug. 28).

The Timbers open play for the Cascadia Cup on May 7 against Vancouver at BC Place and also travel to face Whitecaps FC in the final match of the regular season on Oct. 23. In addition, Portland travels just once to face Sounders FC on Aug. 21 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

In conference play, the Timbers will play host to Real Salt Lake, San Jose and Seattle twice at Providence Park. Conversely, Portland will travel twice during the regular season to face Colorado, FC Dallas and Vancouver. Squaring off against Eastern Conference foes on the road, Portland will travel to face Orlando City SC (April 3), New England Revolution (April 27), Chicago Fire (May 28), New York Red Bulls (July 10) and D.C. United (Aug. 13). Fans can check the Timbers schedule page at a later date to see discounted flight options available through Alaska Airlines.

The Timbers play home matches on three different days of the week this season, including 14 weekend contests and nine Sunday home games. In addition to the Sunday home games, the Timbers play host to five Saturday and three Wednesday fixtures at Providence Park.

Portland closes out the 2016 regular season against Cascadia-rival Vancouver on Oct. 23 at BC Place in Vancouver. Portland’s regular-season home finale will take place on Oct. 16 against the Colorado Rapids at Providence Park.

The Timbers’ full television and radio broadcast schedule for the 2016 season presented by Simple will be announced at a later date.

Schedule Breakdown:
Home Dates by Day of the Week:
Wednesday (3), Saturday (5), Sunday (9)

Road Dates by Day of the Week:
Monday (1), Wednesday (2), Saturday (7), Sunday (7)

Home Dates by Month:
March (2), April (2), May (3), June (2), July (3), August (2), September (2), October (1)

Road Dates by Month:
March (1), April (3), May (3), June (1), July (3), August (2), September (2), October (2)

Western Conference Opponents Played Twice at Home:
Real Salt Lake, San Jose, Seattle

Western Conference Opponents Played Once at Home:
Colorado, FC Dallas, Houston, LA Galaxy, Sporting KC, Vancouver

Western Conference Opponents Played Twice Away:
Colorado, FC Dallas, Vancouver

Western Conference Opponents Played Once Away:
LA Galaxy, Houston, Real Salt Lake, San Jose, Seattle, Sporting KC

Eastern Conference Opponents at Home:
Columbus, Montreal, New York City FC, Philadelphia, Toronto FC

Eastern Conference Opponents Away:
Chicago, D.C. United, New England, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC

2016 Portland Timbers Schedule (home matches in bold, CAPS)

Date	Opponent	Kickoff (Pacific)	Television
Sunday, March 6	COLUMBUS CREW SC	1:30 p.m.	ESPN
Sunday, March 13	@San Jose Earthquakes	4 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
Saturday, March 19	REAL SALT LAKE	7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 3	@Orlando City SC	5 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
Sunday, April 10	@LA Galaxy	6:30 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
Wednesday, April 13	FC DALLAS	7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 16	SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES	7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 27	@New England	4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 1	TORONTO FC	12:30 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, May 7	@Vancouver	TBD
Wednesday, May 11	@FC Dallas	6 p.m.
Sunday, May 15	NEW YORK CITY FC	4:30 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
Sunday, May 22	VANCOUVER	1:30 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, May 28	@Chicago Fire	5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 1	SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES	7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 18	@Real Salt Lake	7 p.m.
Sunday, June 26	HOUSTON DYNAMO	3 p.m.	ESPN2
Monday, July 4	@Colorado Rapids	6 p.m.
Sunday, July 10	@New York Red Bulls	3 p.m.	ESPN2
Wednesday, July 13	MONTREAL IMPACT	7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 17	SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC	12 noon	FOX
Saturday, July 23	LA GALAXY	12:30 p.m.	ESPN
Sunday, July 31	@Sporting Kansas City	11 a.m.	FOX
Sunday, Aug. 7	SPORTING KANSAS CITY	1 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, Aug. 13	@D.C. United	4 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 21	@Seattle Sounders FC	6:30 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
Sunday, Aug. 28	SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC	2 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, Sept. 3	@FC Dallas	6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 10	REAL SALT LAKE	7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 17	PHILADELPHIA UNION	3 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 24	@Houston Dynamo	TBD
Saturday, Oct. 1	@Colorado Rapids	6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 16	COLORADO RAPIDS	4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 23	@Vancouver	1 p.m.