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Michael Dunne: I'm Michael Dunne. There are many things that can excite a community when it's announced they're coming to town: a new restaurant, a new supermarket or a new coffee shop, just to name a few. What most likely won't make the list of exciting attractions is a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, yet that is what the citizens of Roseburg are pondering right now. Today on the show, we talk with a reporter at the Roseburg News-Review about an initial filing of interest for ICE to locate in that town. Then, in a decidedly different story about something new coming to a community, we talk with Kyra Buckley of OPB about how the WNBA's newest team, the Portland Fire, are finally ready to begin their inaugural season. Patrick Moore, reporter with The News-Review. Patrick, thanks so much for coming on and talking with us.
Patrick Moore: You're welcome. Thanks for having me.
Dunne: I read your article about the possibility, the preliminary planning perhaps, for an ICE facility coming to Roseburg. Before I ask you about the article, my first question is: How did you even find out about it? As I understand it, ICE doesn't necessarily shout from the rooftops when it wants to locate a facility in a community.
Moore: Sure, yeah. The information was relatively public if one knows where to look for it. I received a couple of tips that Monday morning. What they call an RFI, a Request for Information, had gone out the previous Friday, March 20, and the people who tipped me off had been tipped off themselves and didn't care to reveal their sources. That was fine, because I was able to confirm it myself just by going to the right website and looking at the RFI, which, like I said, is the Request for Information.
Dunne: Maybe before I get too far ahead of myself, explain what this process is. I read your article. It's sort of less than an RFP, an acronym people might be familiar with: Request for Proposal. Talk about what this sort of document says.
Moore: I'm glad you brought up that term. The people from ICE's Mission Support Division, I think it's called the Office for Acquisition Management, were pretty quick and professional in getting back to me and clarifying that, yes, an RFI is essentially one or two steps below an RFP. So it's an initial offering, if you will. They're asking: Are any of our licensed vendors in possession of facilities or infrastructure that would fit what's called the SOW, the Statement of Work? It was pretty broad and vague at the same time, essentially looking for workstations surrounded by, or in addition to, some private offices, along with nothing more than Wi-Fi and a photocopier.
Dunne: Interesting. So it could be pretty small, or it could be pretty large. What I'm asking is: Can you tell us anything from the documents you've seen about what it could look like if it ever sort of got off the ground?
Moore: No. What the acquisitions office confirmed is they won't even know what the total infrastructure requirements will be until and unless it reaches the RFP level. They put out the same language across all 50 states.
Dunne: I guess it would also be hard to determine where, if it were to be green-lit, it could be located. It really could be kind of anywhere, couldn't it?
Moore: That is exactly what I asked them as well. Are they looking for something downtown, or across town in the more commercial areas? Downtown, being a county seat, is where a lot of the governmental infrastructure is. They said that wasn't within their statement of work or their project parameters at that point in time, not until they got the RFIs back and then presumably narrowed things down from there.
Dunne: OK. You were able to talk to some local opposition leaders with regard to ICE. Tell our audience what they told you.
Moore: There was more than I was probably able to fit into a single article, which obviously I wanted to turn around that same night. It was really a coincidence, as far as I know, that a Roseburg City Council meeting was occurring that following Monday, the 23rd, just a couple of days after the Statement of Work had gone public. But somebody got organized pretty quickly because the council chambers filled up. Obviously, the city council meeting may not be the proper venue for opposition in terms of their authority to do anything about it. But when I asked about that, the answer I got was that they were essentially following what they called the Newport playbook: getting the publicity out there as quickly and as early as possible. That was their stated reason for choosing that venue. It was available, it was public, and it's recorded. As far as the reasons for the opposition, the things most prominently in the public narrative right now are the most tragic incidents, the ones that get national and international coverage. There was discussion, both on and off the record, about the most extreme examples of arrests going wrong or aggressive tactics, searches, things of that nature. Encroachment upon workplaces. Other areas where privacy was at issue. That's what most people who had concerns stated to me as their own concerns.
Dunne: You brought up Newport, and obviously you know what happened in that community. I can imagine that the people you talked to in Roseburg might look at that and say, follow that playbook, because it seems to have worked, and it also seemed to attract some pretty heavyweight support: U.S. senators, members of Congress. Is that kind of the hope here, to maybe mount a full-court press in Roseburg before this could even get to the RFP step?
Moore: Correct. Drawing as much attention, publicity and public comment as possible, while recognizing that there are differences between a town on the north-central coast and a town on the southern end of the freeway.
Dunne: Let's say it progresses down the road to becoming a feasible project. Would the City Council even have authority over it? Or what do they feel their role might be with regard to something like this?
Moore: That's a great question. I spoke to a former city manager of another Oregon town who had also worked in municipal government extensively in California. One of the things she said was that the symbolism of a council voting on and drafting a joint letter can be powerful. That was one of her suggestions. As for the Roseburg City Council, I don't have a prediction as to whether they'd be interested in something like that. City councils are very interesting to watch because they're nonpartisan positions and their campaigns are nonpartisan. Just about the time I think I have them figured out, I'll see two relatively progressive members or two relatively conservative members end up on opposite sides of a vote or arguing about an issue. So I don't know where they come out. It's a nine-person council, so it's not small, and there are a lot of different personalities.
Dunne: My last question for you is this: Having gone to the council meeting and talked to some folks, could you read the room? I know it might be hard to put a percentage on it, but were there people there to support it as well? Give us a gauge of where you think public sentiment stands for whatever ICE may do in Roseburg.
Moore: My estimate, based on people I recognized from other venues, a few I personally had spoken to on other topics, and the amount of applause in the room combined with the public comment: It was 100% opposed. That's just who showed up for that particular meeting.
Dunne: All right. Well, we'll see where this goes, and I'm sure we'll go to you again to see what might happen with regard to the potential for some type of ICE facility in Roseburg, or not. Patrick Moore is a reporter at The News-Review. Patrick, really appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
Moore: Thanks for having me.
Dunne: Let's now get an update on one of the most anticipated occurrences in Oregon: the first season for the WNBA's Portland Fire. Kyra Buckley, business reporter for OPB. Kyra, it's always great to talk to you. Thanks so much for coming on.
Kyra Buckley: Thanks for having me.
Dunne: I'm thinking of that expression, you know, building the airplane while it's in flight, and I think it's an apt description for the Fire right now. Give folks a level set on where the team is, especially now that the agreement between the owners and the players has been settled. We're ready to play. But they need one thing, don't they? A team.
Buckley: Yes, correct. They need players, essentially. The Fire have just a few weeks to accomplish what most expansion teams get about five or six months to do, and that's put together a roster of players to show up at training camp in late April, practice with the team and be ready to go. The team will still make changes up until tip-off and even into the season, as many WNBA fans know. But the core roster is normally set by the end of training camp and before that first game, which for the Fire is May 9. As you mentioned, the labor negotiations between the WNBA and the players union held up that process for Portland and the other expansion team, Toronto. So it's crunch time if the Portland Fire want to have a roster of 12 players ready to go on May 9.
Dunne: So how do they do that? How do they build a roster?
Buckley: It starts with an Expansion Draft. The WNBA just announced that the Expansion Draft is going to take place on April 3, and that's the process where new teams get to pick players that are already in the league. I'll explain that process in a bit more depth in a minute. After that, there's a process called free agency, and that's when all teams, including the expansion teams, trade with each other and make deals. Those are super complex. They normally happen behind closed doors, but that's when you hear about things like one team trading a player for two other players and a draft pick in four years. That process is about to happen again, but truncated. It'll just be a few weeks, and I expect it to be hectic. The Portland Fire could get more players that way. And then, of course, there is the college draft, which I believe is happening April 19. That is when all teams get to pick, depending on their lottery position, from incoming players out of college or international players. Those are generally the three ways the Fire get players. And again, you normally have five or six months to do this. They're doing it in a matter of weeks.
Dunne: That's just breakneck speed. And I'm wondering, too: As I understand it, neither the Toronto team nor the Portland team can get the first pick in the college draft. Is that correct?
Buckley: That's a great question. I don't believe so, because normally the first pick in the draft goes to one of the four teams that didn't make the playoffs the previous year. They do a lottery, and those are the teams that tend to get the first few draft picks. Portland and Toronto, my understanding is that they are sixth and seventh in the first round. It just depends on a whole host of factors as to which one of them picks sixth and which picks seventh. Other WNBA teams can also protect a certain number of players from going into the Expansion Draft.
Dunne: So they would keep, at least theoretically, their best players and then open their roster up to other players, and then the Toronto team or the Portland team could pick from that group. Is that basically correct?
Buckley: My understanding is that teams can protect one or more players, and then Toronto and Portland can only pick one player from each existing team. And again, this is kind of a crazy time because normally there are rules around who's a core player and who's already on contract. But 80% of the WNBA are free agents right now, so Toronto and Portland are going to have to make some pretty challenging decisions. They are going to have so many great players they may be able to pick from, but they will be limited when they do that Expansion Draft on April 3 to just picking one player from each team. And yes, those teams can protect players. So one would think that Las Vegas is probably going to want to protect A'ja Wilson, the reigning MVP. I'm just predicting here.
Dunne: I think the Liberty are going to hold on to Sabrina as well!
Buckley: I'm always willing to be surprised, and I am forever an optimist. But Sabrina has expressed that she is quite happy in New York.
Dunne: So let's talk about what the Fire have. They have a GM, they have a coaching staff in place, correct?
Buckley: That is correct.
Dunne: OK, so that's the brain trust that's going to be building this roster. Let's also talk about this Collective Bargaining Agreement that was negotiated. As I understand it, what's great about it, if you're pro-player, is that it does free up more money to pay players. Is that correct?
Buckley: Yeah, this is really a historic deal. They keep saying that, but it's true, because it's going to create the first million-plus earner among WNBA players. It's also going to vastly increase starting salaries. I really think the most important point that the players are going to keep highlighting is the revenue-sharing model: how the league is literally doling out its increasing revenue back to its players. The players were able to secure an equation that looks more similar to the NBA, where they are going to get a percentage of gross revenue. It's around 20%, which is what is being reported right now. That's different from what the league wanted. They had suggested sharing net revenue, which is revenue minus expenses. The players held the line on that and said, we want part of gross revenue, like players in other professional, specifically professional male leagues. That's the equation they often get. So not only are players going to get paid more than American women have ever been paid before in professional sports, but they also really secured a revenue-sharing model that's going to grow over the life of the CBA. It just shows a little more equity toward what their male counterparts are making.
Dunne: And certainly this is a growth sport that has become extremely popular. I'm wondering: Is part of the agreement, or just part of the business of the WNBA right now, to secure a more robust TV deal? And specifically, how can folks in Oregon outside of Portland watch the games?
Buckley: Oh, this is my favorite question. Yes, and yes. The WNBA has really exploded in popularity, and that is mostly because more people are able to watch it. It is easier to watch games on TV, and that has changed dramatically over the last five years. Yes, the league will see revenue go up, and that's partially because in the last two years they've negotiated better TV deals. That's also why the league was confident they could hold up their end of the bargain for the CBA: because they have seen their investment and the growth in revenue, and they can say, we know more eyeballs are on the sport, we're getting better TV deals, and that's going to continue growing. So if you do not live in Portland and you want to watch the Portland Fire, there are a couple of options. CBS Sports is actually going to air more WNBA games this season than ever before, so check that schedule if you have cable. ESPN also carries more of the sport than ever. You can also sign up for the WNBA League Pass. I think it is a great deal in sports because it's a one-time payment for the whole season. You don't always get to watch games in real time, but you get access to every game. If you are a Fire fan, you will be guaranteed to see all of those games, and if you want to check out other teams, you'll have access to that as well. Also, find a sports bar and tell them to put women's sports on TV. There is more access to it than before, and we know that in part because of the work the Sports Bra here in Portland has done to make it easier for sports bars to carry WNBA games. You will find it on a TV. That is my message. If you want to watch the Portland Fire, it is out there. And of course, we'd love to see people up here in Portland live for games as well.
Dunne: She's Kyra Buckley. She covers business and the WNBA for OPB. Kyra, always appreciate you coming on. Thanks so much.
Buckley: Thank you so much for having me.
Dunne: That's the show for today. All episodes of Oregon on the Record are available as a podcast at KLCC.org. Monday on the show: They zip around at speeds that can sometimes make walkers and joggers tremble with fear. They're e-bikes, and they're all the rage. We'll talk with City of Eugene staffers about what's legal and illegal about these electric vehicles and how the city is trying to reduce dangerous interactions between two-wheeled and two-legged travelers. I'm Michael Dunne, host of Oregon on the Record. Thanks for listening.
