PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Diamond Project has reached an agreement to buy 33 acres of land on Portland's South Waterfront with the intention of developing a Major League Baseball stadium development, according to multiple reports Monday.
The South Waterfront property in question is at Zidell Yards. According to sports columnist John Canzano, the organization has been interested in the site for a long time, due to its "multiple access points that would feed into the ballpark from both sides of the river." He also reported that plans for the property, aside from the ballpark, include "15 acres of retail, hotels and residential developments."
The news was first reported by Sophie Peel of Willamette Week and later confirmed by Canzano and Bill Oram of The Oregonian, both of whom got direct confirmation of the agreement from Craig Cheek, founder and president of Portland Diamond Project.
KGW has reached out to Portland Diamond Project officials for confirmation.
The organization has been trying to secure a site for a Major League Baseball stadium for years, dating all the way back to 2018. They previously looked at the Lloyd Center Mall, the Terminal 2 site in Portland and the RedTail Golf Course property in Beaverton.
In January 2024, Portland Diamond Project confirmed it was in negotiations to purchase the 164-acre RedTail site, which is owned by the city of Portland. Canzano reported Monday night that the group still wants to purchase the RedTail property, but not for its stadium site. Instead it would be for team training facilities and youth baseball fields. Portland Diamond Project would use that as part of its pitch to MLB, Canzano reported.
Six months before that, in June 2023, the organization had reportedly narrowed its focus on two sites for a ballpark: the golf course property and the Lloyd Center, according to Canzano.
