Merritt Paulson

Henry Merritt Paulson III (born 1972/1973[1]) is an American businessman who is the minority[2] owner of Peregrine Sports, LLC, which owns the operating rights to the Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team.

[5] In anticipation of acquiring sports franchises, Paulson formed Shortstop, LLC, which was organized as a Delaware entity.

The Portland City Council approved a $31 million agreement to renovate PGE Park as a soccer- and football-specific stadium.

The former PGE Park became Jeld-Wen Field now known as Providence Park.A new women's national soccer league was created for the 2013 season.

[8] In October 2022, a report commissioned by the United States Soccer Federation detailed Paulson publicly thanking Riley and wishing him well at the time of his departure from the club.

[9][10] On October 4, 2022, Paulson announced he, along with Gavin Wilkinson and team president Mike Golub, would step aside from all Thorns-related duties.

Earlier that day, the Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters formally demanded the removal of Wilkinson and Golub and for Paulson to sell the teams due to the reports of abuse the club had allegedly covered up.