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Soccer, with a side of opera, arrives at Lents Park this weekend

Kale Williams

Split image of two festival mascots: left a tall brown sausage figure with sausage limbs over its face; right a red round-headed character in a black leather jacket making rock hand signs. — Saucy T. Banger and Mary T. Cherry are ready to welcome you to the pitch. Photos: Courtesy of the Portland Bangers/Cherry Bombs

If you missed the Fire's return to town last week, you've got two chances to see Portland teams open their seasons this weekend.

Why it matters: The Bangers and the Cherry Bombs, the city's pre-professional men's and women's soccer clubs, are debuting a larger Lents Park venue as the Cherry Bombs launch their inaugural season.

State of play: Both teams will play in Lents Park for the first time at a revamped field that can hold up to 2,000 fans with seats right on the touchline.

That roughly doubles the capacity of the University of Portland, where the Bangers played last season.
And it's adjacent to Walker Stadium, so fans will have access to expanded concessions, bar service and merchandise areas.

The intrigue: The Cherry Bombs are also partnering with the Portland Opera for live operatic performances at every home game this season.

A pianist, accompanied by four opera singers, will lead crowd chants and provide real-time musical scoring to match the action on the pitch.
This weekend will also see the debut of Mary T. Cherry, the team's mascot, who will join the ranks of the Bangers' Saucy T. Sausage and the Pickles Dillon T. Pickle as Portland's cadre of unhinged mascots expands.

If you go: The Bangers take to the pitch Saturday with the Cherry Bombs to follow on Sunday.

Both games kick off at 7pm. Buy your Bangers tickets here and your Cherry Bomb tickets here.

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Soccer, with a side of opera, arrives at Lents Park this weekend

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