Milwaukie (Ore.) officials have changed tack on the quest to land minor-league baseball, bringing in a former Rose Garden exec to work out a game plan for a Northwest League team.
J.E. Isaac, president of the Portland Business Association and a former Portland Trail Blazers (NBA) executive, will work with the city on a funding plan for a proposed ballpark to house a short-season-A Northwest League team, according to Oregon Live. Funding sources, besides the usual rent from a team, could include suite rent, naming rights or development rights in the ballpark site. He’ll also be working on a local ownership component.
Which may be way premature, as is talk about a team potentially moving to the Portland area. Right now no MiLB team has permission to explore the territory, according to owners with knowledge of the situation; one other team has expressed interest in the Portland market (certainly one of the most lucrative open markets in Minor League Baseball), but much will also depends on what happens with a proposed new ballpark in Boise and the potential of bringing Triple-A ball to that city. And with negotiations going through league president Bob Richmond — also an active broker in MiLB — talk of specific teams is meaningless.
RELATED STORIES: Milwaukie seeks public input on new ballpark; Milwaukie moves ahead with ballpark-feasibility study; Clark County postpones ballpark hearing; County scales back commitment to Portland-area ballpark; Competing ballpark plans in Portland; New Portland-area ballpark could provide economical bump: study; Clark County reverses course; will exclusively negotiate with Bears; Clark County passes on exclusive negotiations with Bears; opposition to new ballpark rises; Funding plan emerges for new Clark County ballpark; Yakima Bears to Portland area
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