Portland Mayor-Elect Keith Wilson sounded optimistic about Portland’s chances of landing a Major League Baseball franchise.
Wilson told Laurel Porter, host of “Straight Talk” on KGW-TV, that he attended a meeting about the city’s attempt to bring a MLB to Portland. He came away from the meeting feeling good about the city’s chances.
“I’d say this is as close as we’ve come,” Wilson told Porter. “We feel confident it’s down to us and one other city. And we’re making a solid play.”
The Portland Diamond Project is spearheading the effort to bring an MLB team to Portland. The group announced in September a plan to purchase land to build a new stadium at Zidell Yards on the South Waterfront.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said no decisions on a potential MLB expansion would take place until the stadium situations with the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics are resolved.
The Athletics seem destined to relocate to Las Vegas, where a new $1.5 billion stadium is supposed to open in 2028. The Athletics will play in Sacramento in 2025.
The Rays’ situation is far murkier and more complicated.
Hurricane Milton’s fierce winds tore much of the fiberglass roof off Tropicana Field, the Rays’ home stadium in St. Petersburg in October. Repairs were estimated at $55.7 million, of which $23 million was initially approved by the St. Petersburg City Council. The council then reversed course hours later.
The council then a delayed vote on public funding for the team’s proposed $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg that is scheduled to open in 2028. The Rays will play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., during the 2025 season. Beyond 2025, the short- and long-term future of the Rays’ in St. Petersburg is in doubt, according to mlb.com.
If MLB can resolve the Rays’ stadium issue soon, Manfred said he expects to have an expansion decision before his current term ends in 2029. If an expansion announcement does occur, a team likely would begin play in 2031.
©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
