PSU football team robbed at PGE Park

Over $9,000 in personal property was stolen from several lockers at PGE Park during a Portland State football game Sept. 15, leaving Viking players, football and athletic staff without personal belongings.

Athletic Director Torre Chisholm said wallets with identification, money, iPods, watches, headphones, cell phones and a muscle stimulator were taken from 29 lockers in the stadium at some point during the game.

Police currently have no leads on the case and the investigation is still open.

Viking players had entered the locker room following a team chant to celebrate Portland State’s 35-24 win over the Sacramento State Hornets when they discovered the burglary that had taken place while they were on the field.

“The team was really disappointed, especially coming off the emotional high of winning,” Chisholm said.

Officials at PGE Park and the Portland State athletic department said they are uncertain about how the culprits gained access to the locker room. The two primary entry points to the locker room entrances located near the field’s 50-yard line and through a basement tunnel beneath the stadium’s main concourse, respectively.

In order to open the door located on the tunnel side, a code must be punched in the door’s keypad and a key is required, according to Chris Metz, baseball assistant general manager and director of communications at PGE Park.

Officials from both PGE Park and the Portland State Athletic Department have expressed some suspicion that one of the doorways may have been left ajar or propped open, although the concern has not been confirmed.

Replacement options for the stolen belongings are still being considered by both parties, but Assistant Athletic Director of Compliance Chris Moore said the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Special Assistance Fund would provide coverage for all physical items, but would not cover money taken from the scene.

The Special Assistance Fund is intended to “assist student-athletes in meeting financial needs that arise in conjunction with participation in intercollegiate athletics,” according to NCAA guidelines on revenue distribution.

Moore said the fund will not cover cash because it is difficult to quantify and determine exactly how much each victim had when the theft occurred. The Special Assistance Fund will account for a $2000 minimum of the items stolen, and the exact figure will not be known until each item’s value is researched, he said.

Metz said PGE Park is still conferring with its insurance provider regarding how much coverage is available to reimburse the athletes.

“This is such a rare occurrence for PGE Park,” said Metz. “We have over 200 events each year, and to my knowledge theft like this just doesn’t happen.”

Vikings head coach Jerry Glanville echoed Chisholm’s sentiment concerning his team’s reaction to the theft in their locker room.

“The team was really upset about the theft,” Glanville said. “You would really think you’d get some security from the stadium.”

Chisholm said the athletic department is considering an increase in security for the remaining games against Northern Arizona and Weber State. Portland State athletics currently pays PGE Park approximately $11,000 each game for ticket takers, ushers and security.

John Selman, director of game operations at Portland State, who initially reported the crime to the Portland Police, said the athletics department plans to hire security personnel to roam the locker room during games to reduce the possibility of another theft.