Delta Park is a public municipal park complex in north

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Delta Park is composed of two distinct sections referred to as East and West Delta Park. The Owens Sports Complex is a notable attraction of East Delta Park, bringing teams from across the West Coast to compete in an array of sports. For local Oregonians, homelessness and a past Proud Boys rally distinguish East Delta Park and the Owens Sports Complex from other parks in the Portland area.

Description

Delta Park straddles

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

, between the

Columbia Slough The Columbia Slough is a narrow waterway, about long, in the floodplain of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Oregon. From its source in the Portland suburb of Fairview, the Columbia Slough meanders west through Gresham and Portland to ...

to the south and the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

to the north. The section east of the Interstate is known as East Delta Park, and to the west is West Delta Park. The latter area was formerly known as the city of Vanport, created during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to house shipbuilders and was destroyed by a flood in 1948.

Henry Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...

built the World War II city of Vanport adjacent to Delta Park, helping house thousands who worked the shipyards. At its peak, the then second-largest city in the state included schools, libraries, and a theater. After the flood in 1948, part of the area was transformed into Delta Park in the 1950s.

East Delta Park

The Owens Sports Complex, a large part of East Delta Park, includes seven

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

fields, nine soccer fields, a number of beach volleyball courts, and a concessions building. The complex is named for William V. Owens, a former park superintendent who developed and managed the city's softball program. East Delta Park also has a dog off-leash area, a football field, paved paths, picnic tables, a playground, and a

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

court. The

Portland Parks & Recreation Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) is a Bureau of the City of Portland, Oregon that manages the city parks, natural areas, recreational facilities, gardens, and trails. The properties, which occupy a total of more than . The bureau employs a total ...

Department operates the park, which is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Urban Forestry Division of the Portland Parks Department maintains a street-tree

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

in East Delta Park. The trees are the varieties the division recommends for planting in public rights-of-way between curbs and sidewalks. Headquartered in the park, the division uses the arboretum to teach tree identification to members of Friends of Trees and similar community organizations.

West Delta Park

Portland International Raceway Portland International Raceway (PIR) is a motorsport facility in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of the Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It lies west of the Delta Park/Vanport ...

, for car, motorcycle and bicycle racing, is part of West Delta Park. Sharing the park with the raceway are the Heron Lakes Golf Course, a dog off-leash area, and natural areas. Force Lake at 45°36′17″N 122°41′37″W in the northwest corner of the golf course attracts many species of birds. Signs around the lake describe the wildlife and explain the history of Vanport.

Current events

Homelessness crisis

The homeless epidemic facing Portland has increased in previous years, particularly after the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Following the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020, Portland had cut $26.9 million dollars from the police force’s budget.Hart, Angela. "Sobering Lessons in Untying the Knot of a Homeless Crisis." ''TCA News Service'', Jun 23, 2022''. ProQuest.'' Furthermore, the Portland Police Bureau had specified responding to high-priority calls because of the declined budget. Officer positions aligned with fighting narcotics and organizing neighborhood safety were eliminated. Less attention was given to the homelessness crisis in Portland and unhoused areas like East Delta Park began to sprawl. As of May of 2021, Portland had put a pause on routine sweeps of homeless camps. North Union Court separates the Owens Sports Complex of East Delta Park and the encroaching encampments. Increasing illegal site access has intruded onto North Union Court and employees in the area were disabled from working on the area due to the obstructions of the encampments. News organizations have interviewed people living in the encampments, and it has been reported that many of the inhabitants have been parked in their recreational vehicles(RVs) for years. RV’s have been a popular living accommodation and leaders try to not exceed 20 mobile homes. The RV’s bring reliable shelter from the Portland rain and have benefits like locked doors for privacy. The people living around East Delta Park have developed into a community, one with leaders and rules. Some residents of this area, which is across the street from the Owens Sports Complex, have described what those guidelines are. There are tidiness guidelines in part to keep the community in line with city code.

Proud Boys rally

On September 26 of 2020, inside of the Owens Sports Complex of East Delta Park, the grass soccer fields were the location of a

Proud Boys The Proud Boys is an American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.Far-right: * * Fascist: * * * * * Men only: * * * Political violence: * * * It has ...

rally of over 300 people. It was expected that there would be over 1,000 members in attendance. Governor

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

sent state troopers in anticipation of the Proud Boys and counter-protests. The group present at the Owens Sports Complex could be identified as MOSD, or the “Ministry of Self Defense”, a western group organized by

Enrique Tarrio :''The surname'' Tarrio ''is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled'' Tarrío'', with an acute accent on the'' í. Henry "Enrique" Tarrio ( , ; born ) is an American activist, former FBI informant, and convicted felon who serve ...

. Enrique Tarrio, a national figure and leader of the Proud Boys, organized the event. He and other Proud Boys activists were charged later that year for plotting the Capital storming of January 6, 2021. The Proud Boys rally of the Owens Sports Complex sparked a separate counter protest that gathered near Delta Park at the Vanport site in North Portland. After around 90 minutes at the Owens Sports Complex, the rally group of 300 began to disperse. The city of Portland and their Parks & Recreation team did not grant the Proud Boys a permit.

Portland Urban Forestry Headquarters

East Delta Park and has also been subjected to theft and vandalism. Outside of the Owens Sports Complex of East Delta Park, but still inside East Delta Park, is the Portland Urban Forestry Headquarters. Preceding 2022, the headquarters had been broken into, and more than a dozen incidents of vandalism have been recorded since the summer of 2021. A vehicle had been stolen for a short amount of time and subsequently it now costs the city $261,000 annually to have someone guard the site.

Delta Park Center

The Delta Park shopping center is located alongside the Owens Sports Complex of East Delta Park. The shopping center is separated from the fields by a tree line and parking lot. Homeplace Furniture and Design is located within it. Personal accounts from the manager of the store describe an increase in garbage, cars, camps, and structures piling up since the start of the pandemic. On May 29th, 2021, a private security guard was involved in a fatal shooting in the parking lot at the Delta Park Center shopping plaza. The man is now facing charges.

References

{{Sports venues in Portland, Oregon , collapsed Arboreta in Oregon East Columbia, Portland, Oregon Kenton, Portland, Oregon North Portland, Oregon Parks in Portland, Oregon Softball venues in Portland, Oregon Sports venues in Portland, Oregon Urban public parks