A third site is emerging as an option for a proposed Portland Major League Baseball ballpark, as the Port of Portland’s Terminal Two has entered the mix.
The Portland Diamond Project has been making the push to build a new ballpark that could accommodate an MLB team. In the concept that has been floated in previous reports, a 32,000-seat ballpark would serve as the centerpiece of a multiuse development that could include up to 8,000 apartments.
Two sites have previously been publicly identified as options for a new ballpark, and the seldom-used Terminal Two is now being explored. Port officials confirmed that the Portland Diamond Project has inquired about the 53-are terminal. More from Willamette Week:
A spokeswoman for the Port of Portland confirmed to WW today that the Diamond Project has approached the port about Terminal Two, a little-used marine facility located at 3356 Northwest Front Ave., on the west bank of the Willamette River northwest of the Fremont Bridge.
“We’ve been approached by the Portland Diamond Project about T-2 and in reaction to that, we’ve been open to a conversation,” port spokeswoman Melanie Mesaros tells WW.
Mesaros declined to answer questions about the terms of that conversation.
As noted, two other sites were previously revealed as possible homes for a new ballpark. Those include the current Portland Public Schools’ headquarters–located near the Moda Center– and the Esco Industrial site, which was once was home to a former pro baseball ballpark in the city–Vaughn Street Park.
While Portland has been mentioned off and on over the years as a possible home for an MLB club, it remains to be seen how the city would land a team. Expansion is unlikely to be seriously discussed by the league until the ballpark searches of the Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays are settled, and both teams are working to build new facilities in their current markets. It is possible that one of or both of those teams will come up short in their current locales, but for now it does not seem that either team is in the mix for a relocation.
Still, the interest in Terminal Two is a sign that the lobbying for a new ballpark in Portland continues. Portland Diamond Project backers include retired Nike executive Craig Cheek, former Portland Trail Blazers (NBA) announcer Mike Barrett, and former Oregon lawmaker Jason Atkinson.
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