With their debut less than a year away, the Portland Timbers are represented at MLS meetings taking place around the AT&T All-Star Game in Houston. MLS Commissioner Don Garber is high on the Timbers, who will play at renovated PGE Park.

In an interview with the Oregonian's Geoffrey C. Arnold, Garber says the Timbers are doing a "terrific job." He says the Timbers and Vancouver will play in the Western Conference, meaning two existing Western Conference teams will have to move to the Eastern Conference (Dallas and Houston are the eastern-most teams).

Garber has no problem that PGE Park, first opened in 1926, is not a new facility. "One thing that we now know is that some of our most successful stadiums are the ones that are located in or close to downtown," he said. "And you can't get any more downtown than PGE Park." He added that the league was in discussions with owner Merritt Paulson to bring "a MLS special event" to Portland.