Portland Baseball Stadium Closer As Diamond Project Strikes Deal

PORTLAND, OR – The Portland Diamond Project said Thursday that they've reached an agreement to develop the Port of Portland's 45-acre Terminal 2 so that they can build a Major League Baseball-caliber stadium and attract a team to the Rose City. That's the good news.

Still unanswered is just how they would pay for the stadium.

The Portland Diamond Project says that they have a letter of intent that will allow them to develop the land in Northwest Portland, ending a months-long process that has seen them look at various properties including the Portland Public Schools current district headquarters and the former home of ESCO, also in Northwest Portland.

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"We believe this has the potential to be a transformative landmark project for this city," Portland Diamond Project and President Craig Cheek says.

"Building an iconic, state-of-the-art ballpark along the Willamette River will catalyze economic development and capture great views of both the urban scale of the city and regional character of the Pacific Northwest."

The stadium would have a retractable roof – something probably necessary in Portland where rain is a long-time resident particularly during the first three months of the baseball season – and seat around 32,000 people.

What Cheek did not announce is where all the money will come from to make it real.

They do have access to a $150 million bond passed by the Oregon legislature in 2003 when Portland was trying to convince the then-Montreal Expos to move here.

The project also has several investors, including some high profile people such as Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, Grammy-nominated singer, Ciara, as well as Jason Atkinson who ran for the Republican nomination for governor in Oregon 2016 – he lost in the primary – and former Blazers's play-by-play announcer Mike Barrett.

PDP officials say that their hope is to have the stadium built and occupied for the 2022 season.

The question is which team will be throwing that first pitch?

Tampa Bay and Oakland are both considered candidates since both teams have run into obstacles in getting new stadiums built.

Another possibility is an expansion team.

Major League Baseball is considering expanding to 32 teams and Commissioner Rob Manfred has said that Portland is on the short list if that were to happen.

Renderings via Portland Diamond Project.