Portland still hoping to attract MLB team, with Gresham even proposing a stadium site

Posted June 2021

By Daryna Bosyuk

Staff Editor

There’s the renewed chance that major league baseball will be coming to Portland, with Gresham even pitching the idea to its community for stadium consideration.

The Diamond Project has been working on getting major league baseball to Portland for many years, and Gresham considered plans that would have competed with Portland’s. The Gresham plan is spearheaded by Lynn Lashbrook and Jeffrey DeBois, with full support from outgoing Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis. Gresham’s location is in close proximity to downtown Portland without the social and political issues attached, such as homelessness. Community leaders want to hear the public's opinion on whether it’s something Gresham would want to see in its neighborhood. The site considered for the stadium is the closed K-Mart location, on Burnside behind Gresham Station. It would take approximately 10 years to complete, first needing a team to commit to the move. Debois sees this as an opportunity to create an eco-friendly campus, with job opportunities and more affordable housing for the Rockwood area. Historically, Gresham has considered building a NASCAR track near highway 84 and sport complexes for the former Multnomah Greyhound Park dog track. The population of Gresham is 110,000. With Opportunity Zones present in Gresham, the site-building may take advantage of tax relief for investments and capital gains.

Architect Barry Smith has also proposed another East County site, MultCO Baseball Park at the Multnomah County’s Vance Property. The Vance Property includes 250 acres between 182nd and 190th avenues. Smith drafted the idea under True Master LLC. His proposal needs about $6 billion in investments for East County. The stadium plans include 38,000 seats, with views of Mt. Hood from home plate. The baseball park would be expandable to 4,000 seats for football, soccer, and rugby. Parks and Recreation would receive about 45 acres from the MultCO Park. New Generations factories are included into the design, with 3.25 million square feet set aside for production, research, and design facilities. The plan also includes 7,500 brand new households for the workforce, with community and affordable housing, and hospitality facilities surrounding a festival marketplace. It is projected to open 8,000 new jobs, not including stadium employees. Smith's idea would also fill Knife’s River defunct sand and gravel quarry.

The Portland Diamond Project (PDP) was founded in 2017 in an effort to attract major league baseball to Portland. The Oregon Legislature set aside $150 million taxpayer funds for a stadium in Portland in 2003. The Montreal Expos considered Portland before settling in Washington D.C. in 2004, and the Florida Marlins also considered the Rose City in 2006, but decided to stay put. The PDP was founded by former Nike Executive Craig Cheek. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his spouse Ciara became investors in 2018. The PDP group reached an agreement with the Port of Portland to build a stadium along the Willamette River on the Terminal 2 property in 2018. It is estimated that the project would require up to $2 billion from public and private funding.