PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Mayor-elect Keith Wilson went on "Straight Talk" with Laural Porter this week, and in addition to answering questions about unsheltered homelessness, clean energy and the relationship between the city and the county, he also answered a question about MLB to Portland.
Before the interview began, Wilson told Porter that he'd recently had a meeting about bringing Major League Baseball to Portland. When asked if it's a real possibility that the Rose City could get an MLB team, Wilson provided a positive response.
"I'd say this is as close as we've come," he said.
Wilson mentioned that there were about 120 people at this meeting, including legislators, legislative assistants and business leaders, calling it a "real public-private partnership" trying to bring MLB to Portland.
"We feel confident it's down to us and one other city," Wilson said. "And we're making a solid play. They got a wonderful facility planned over at the Zidell Yards, which is in South Waterfront overlooking the water with a mountain in the view. I think it's a reality, and this is our time to really make that play."
The mayor-elect said Portland has to move past the negative perception of the city that's built up over the past few years to attract an entity like Major League Baseball.
"One of the things that I took out of (the meeting) is that it would help us, Portland, put the rearview mirror and what had happened this last four, five, six, seven years behind us and look to the hopefulness of tomorrow," he said. "And I think it's a great refrain with what my message was to the city. It's time for us to look forward. Let's talk about big, bright, big swings, which is what Portland was always known for."
Wilson didn't share any other details about the meeting.
On Oct. 30, the Portland City Council unanimously approved a resolution in support of Portland Diamond Project and its plan to bring a Major League Baseball team to Portland. The resolution directs city staffers to work with the group in the acquisition process of the site at Zidell Yards.
Portland Diamond Project entered a 120-day due diligence period with a 42-month period to purchase the 30.85-acre site of Zidell Yards in the center of South Waterfront to construct an MLB stadium. Currently, it's mostly undeveloped land, sandwiched between Oregon Health and Science University properties, the Tilikum Crossing bridge and the Ross Island Bridge.
The group has been trying to bring an MLB team to Portland for years, dating back to 2018. They looked at the Lloyd Center Mall, the Terminal 2 site in Portland and the RedTail Golf Course property in Beaverton for potential stadium sites. However, for one reason or another, those plans fizzled.
Then in late September, the group announced its plans to purchase the site at Zidell Yards, the farthest the Portland Diamond Project has come to making an MLB stadium in the city a reality.
