Wikipedia

Multnomah Athletic Club

This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 9 May 2026.

The Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC) is a private social and athletic club in Portland, Oregon, United States organized as a 501c7 non-profit. It was founded in 1891 as the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club, a coordinating body for team and individual sports such as track and field, football, and basketball and fielded its own competitive teams against collegiate competition. As of May 2026, it provides athletic and dining facilities to its 21,000 dues-paying members.[1]

Multnomah Athletic Club
AbbreviationM.A.C.
FormationFebruary 1891
TypeSocial and recreational club
Registration no.93-0232310
Location
Coordinates45°31′14″N 122°41′34″W / 45.5206°N 122.6927°W / 45.5206; -122.6927
Membersabout 21,000 (May 2026) [1]
Key people
Daniel Williams (president)
Charles Leverton (general manager)[1]
Revenue$52.1 million [2] (2023)
Websitethemac.com

The MAC was the target of a suicide bombing in May 2026. A disgruntled former employee, fired in 2019, drove an explosives-filled vehicle into the club in middle of the night.[3][4][5]

History

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The Multnomah Athletic Club was founded in 1891 as the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club. It is located in Portland, Oregon's Goose Hollow neighborhood, occupying two buildings adjacent to the Providence Park sports stadium. It is governed under laws for 501(c)(7) Social and recreational clubs. In 2024 it claimed $55,959,896 in total revenue and total assets of $116,576,907.[6] The Multnomah Athletic Foundation at the same address is a 501(c)(3) Public Charity. In 2024 it claimed $377,604 in total revenue and $3,613,692 in total assets.[7]

The club hosted annual outdoor athletic games in Portland, with the inaugural event taking place in September 1891.[8] The event included a traditional spectrum of track and field events, including sprints, middle distance races, and a one-mile run, hurdling, high and long jumping, pole vaulting, the hammer throw and shot put, as well as a one-mile race walk and a two-mile bicycle race.[8] These annual competitions were open to any member of a valid athletic club, military unit, or institution of higher learning.[8]

Bicycle racing was an important part of the club's activities during its first decade, with one of its members claiming world records in the one-mile and ten-mile bicycle race from a standing start in 1894.[9]

Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club also served as the organizer of its own teams, playing football against other clubs from its inception.[10] Chief rivals on the gridiron during the ensuing two decades included the teams of the Seattle Athletic Club and Spokane Amateur Athletic Club;[10] regular games against Oregon college teams were also played.

The entrance to the Multnomah Athletic Club photographed in 2014.

The club is known for its exclusivity[11] and was historically male-dominated. Women members were not given full voting privileges until 1977. Jews were also not allowed to be MAC members until 1958.[12]

New memberships are chosen by a lottery, however applicants who don't know a current member may be asked to present a reference letter.[13]

It has been called "the only club in town that matters" and Nike had paid for one of its former executive's MAC membership at company expense to "help him integrate into the Portland business community"[14][15]

The general manager's salary in 2017 was around $719,000, which makes his salary among the highest non-profit executive salaries in Portland outside of the medical sector.[16]

2026 bombing

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On May 2, 2026, a former MAC employee drove a car packed with explosive devices into the club's lobby in what has been described as an apparent suicide bombing attack. The sole occupant of the car was found dead after some explosives detonated and caused significant damage to the facility. No one else was killed or injured.[17][18][19] The suspect Bruce Whitman worked as a bartender at the club but was fired in 2019 due to "unspecified conduct concerns".[5] He had a known history of fixation with MAC, including engaging in club-related conspiracy theories and threatening MAC's members, dating back to 2021.[20]

Sexual harassment incident

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Whitman alleged that he and other male employees were subject to sexual harassment by a supervisor over a period of years and it was inadequately addressed by MAC's human resources department. He filed a complaint to the state's Bureau of Labor and Industry in 2015. BOLI determined his complaint was valid and he had been sexually harassed. It was dismissed only due to being past statute of limitations which at the time was one year, which has since been extended to five years. The supervisor in question had been given a professional conduct warning.[21][22]

Facilities

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The club's primary facility is an eight-level main clubhouse located adjacent to Providence Park. The club's facilities total 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2), making it the largest indoor athletic club in the world.[23][24] The facility closed temporarily due to the damage from the May 2026 bombing incident, most of which was water damage from the sprinkler system.[4]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Mooney, Mary (2026-05-03). "MAC will be shut at least 1 week after attack, club says". oregonlive. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  2. ↑ "Nonprofit Explorer; Multnomah Athletic Club". propublica.org. ProPublica. 2023. Retrieved 14 Dec 2025.
  3. ↑ "Person found dead in car after it plows into health club in Portland, Oregon". The Guardian. 2026-05-02. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  4. 1 2 Davis, Abby (2026-05-06). "Multnomah Athletic Club in 'holding pattern' as they assess damage from explosive crash". KPTV. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
  5. 1 2 "Timeline: Bruce Whitman's interactions with the legal system before the Multnomah Athletic Club car bombing". kgw.com. 2026-05-05. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
  6. ↑ "Financials for Multnomah Athletic Club". candid.org. Candid. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Financials for MULTNOMAH ATHLETIC FOUNDATION INC". candid.org. Candid. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 "Athletics," [Salem, OR] Capital Journal, Aug. 25, 1891, p. 3.
  9. ↑ "The Race Tonight," [Salem, OR] Daily Oregon Statesman, Aug. 7, 1894, p. 4.
  10. 1 2 C.N. MacArthur, "Foot Ball in the Pacific Northwest," in Walter Camp (ed.), Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide, 1907. New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1907; p. 81.
  11. ↑ "Rogue of the Week: Multnomah Athletic Club". Willamette Week. January 17, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-01-27. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  12. ↑ "Is it True That the Multnomah Athletic Club did not Allow Jews to Become Members Until the 1970s?". Willamette Week. 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
  13. ↑ "What's the Deal with Portland's Exclusive Old Private Clubs?". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  14. ↑ Budnick, Nick (August 28, 2006). "MAC to the future". Portland Tribune. Retrieved December 1, 2022.[dead link]
  15. ↑ Leder, Michelle (2006-08-20). "OPENERS: SUITS; JUST OVERDO IT". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  16. ↑ "Longtime Multnomah Athletic Club General Manager Norm Rich Set to Resign in July". Willamette Week. 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  17. ↑ Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon; Silverman, Julia (May 2, 2026). "Multnomah Athletic Club partially 'destroyed' after former employee drives explosives-filled car into building, sources say". oregonlive. Retrieved 2026-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ↑ Hale, Jamie (May 2, 2026). "Video appears to show car crashing through Multnomah Athletic Club lobby before explosion". oregonlive. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  19. ↑ Ziegler, Hannah (2026-05-02). "Car With Explosive Devices Crashes Into Athletic Club in Portland, Ore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
  20. ↑ Crombie, Noelle (May 3, 2026). "Suspected Multnomah Athletic Club bomber threatened members for years, court records show". oregonlive. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  21. ↑ Bernstein, Maxine (2026-05-09). "Neighbors begged. Co-workers filed reports. So why didn't MAC bomber get the help he needed?". oregonlive. Retrieved 2026-05-09.
  22. ↑ Kish, Matthew (May 6, 2026). "MAC bomber was union organizer, sexually harassed at Portland club, documents show".
  23. ↑ "History - MAC". themac.com. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  24. ↑ Anderson, Heather Arndt (2015-12-17). "Inside the Best Portland Restaurant Where You'll Never Get to Eat". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
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