Should Portland, Oregon be awarded an expansion Major League Baseball team, the city is prepared to break ground on a new waterfront stadium as early as 2027, according to a revealing city council meeting this week.
Craig Cheek, CEO of the eight-year-old Portland Diamond Project, was on hand with Mayor Keith Wilson at Monday’s legislative committee, where he laid out plans as well as new renderings for the stunning indoor-outdoor venue.
The 32,000-seat proposed stadium would have a translucent and retractable roof, allowing the stadium to be a useful throughout the year.
What’s more, Cheek said, is the purchase sale agreement for the property on Zidell Yards was signed in early February.
‘We believe this is an iconic site,’ Cheek said, as quoted by OregonLive.com. ‘If you think about the current 30 stadiums in the country, there may not be a better backdrop.’
Fans in Pittsburgh or Los Angeles may disagree, given the dramatic backdrops at PNC Park and Dodger Stadium, but Zidell Yards certainly has its rustic charms.
The 32,000-seat proposed stadium would have a translucent and retractable roof, allowing the stadium to be a useful throughout the year
Not only would the park be situated along the Willamette River, but also directly in between the Ross Island and Tilikum Crossing Bridges
Not only would the park be situated along the Willamette River, but also directly in between the Ross Island and Tilikum Crossing Bridges.
The renderings reveal a stunning glass and timber exterior, which is the product of architect Jeff Yrazabal, who previously planned renovations at Oregon State’s baseball stadium in Corvallis.
This, of course, is a much larger venue – and one that the Portland Diamond Project has been hoping to build since 2017.
‘We need a project like this and we need a project like this now,’ Mayor Wilson told attendees at Monday’s meeting.
Wilson and Cheek now hope to share a ‘complete and compelling package’ with MLB’s expansion committee.
There are other suitors, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said he wants the locations of two new expansion teams decided by the time he retires from his post in 2029.
Other contenders include Nashville, Salt Lake City, Charlotte and the former home of the current Washington Nationals, Montreal.
Portland currently has a high-A minor league affiliate for the Arizona Diamondbacks known as the Hillsboro Hops.
Until 2010, a Pacific Coast League club known as the Portland Beavers had occupied Providence Park, where two professional soccer teams now play.
