TITLE:
Sport Business Education and Career
Bio
For over 25 years, Dr. Lashbrook has spearheaded an effort to bring Major League Baseball
to Portland, Oregon. In 2003, in an effort to attract the Montreal Expos to Oregon, Lynn led the lobbying efforts that resulted in a $150 million construction bill for a new baseball stadium in Portland. Under his
leadership, the group secured legislative action to subsidize a new stadium with ballplayers payroll taxes. Due to this campaign, a 25,000-seat stadium in the heart of the city was revitalized rather than torn down, now home to the MLS Portland Timbers. Lashbrook continues his quest for MLB to PDX, and has been consultant to a variety of groups making attempts to bring MLB to Portland including the Portland Baseball Group, Oregon Stadium Campaign, Oregon Sports Authority, and the most recent effort, the Portland Diamond Project. For over two decades Lynn has generated momentum by engaging numerous architects, HOK, Populous, nationally recognized baseball consultants, baseball attorneys, franchise consultants, MLB executives, government leaders, transportation and logistics experts, lobbists, and city leaders. Lynn has an insight and expertise for the MLB to PDX effort that is unparalleled. He has been privy to numerous site selection analyitcs, broadening his understanding of the dynamic economic and market factors at play. Dr. Lashbrook understands the necessary criteria to attract an owner of a team, including funding mechanisms, market affordability, political will, transportation availability, acreage requirements, ease of location to the population, timing constraints and importance of community involvement and MLB's diversity vision.
Dr. Lashbrook has taught as a professor at numerous universities including, Oregon State University, Eastern Oregon University, Western Oregon University, University of Missouri, Southern Illinois University, University of Alaska-Fairbanks,Warner Pacific University, and University of Northern Colorado, Springfield College, Fort Hays State University. As an Adjunct Professor at the United States Sports Academy, he was named Professor of the Year in the Distant Learning Program in 2000. His book "Fan Etiquette" offered advice to professional and collegiate sports programs on how to manage fan behavior and is used in sports business classrooms nationwide. His awards include the Meritorious Service Award for Outstanding Performance and Leadership at the University of Alaska and recognition for playing an instrumental role in establishing the first NCAA athletic exchange with Russia, with the Khabarovsk Institute of Sport and Physical Culture. He was awarded The Alumni Achievement Award from his beloved Fort Hays State University. In partnership with Sports Management Worldwide, Dr. Lashbrook has been a special advisor in sports management to creating curriculum and course work for Concordia University Chicago, American Public University, NOVA Southeastern University and NorthCentral University.
