Sometimes when news breaks it is actually a precursor of what could end up being much larger news.
Just before the New Year, Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss reported the Timbers have approached the Multnomah Athletic Club and the City of Portland about an expansion of the south side of Providence Park that would increase the stadium's seating capacity by an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 seats by, at the earliest, the 2018 season. Although, as Jamie Goldberg of The Oregonian reported, the Timbers remain in the design phase of the south end expansion, the additional seating could very well make Providence Park a more attractive option for luring international competition to the stadium.