MLS expansion franchise Portland Timbers will cap their inaugural season tickets sales at 12,000 says owner Merritt Paulson.

The Timbers projected that they would be able to sell in excess of 10,000 tickets for their debut MLS season and recent reports suggest that they have easily reached that mark and will now push on to the self-imposed limit.

"We haven't even started selling half-season tickets or any partial season tickets," Paulson told The Oregonian. "We're going to assess things down the line and make a decision later.

"When you talk about projections, there's a real danger in setting expectations and then hurting your credibility by not living up to it," he added. "It's one thing to say it and another thing to prove it."

Paulson said that for the numbers to be this good in such a tough economic time indicated that the people of Portland were getting right behind the new franchise.

"When Seattle launched (2008), it was a different economy and the (NBA's Seattle) Sonics had just left town," Paulson said. "Now, we're in the middle of a recession. For us to be at this point we're at right now, with a city this size, is significant."