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The Portland Diamond Project, a private group of baseball supporters that for years has aspired to bring a Major League Baseball team to Portland, has signed an initial agreement to purchase the 33-acre plot of land on the South Waterfront known as Zidell Yards.
Multiple sources tell WW that the deal is near completion.
The purchase—if it’s inked—would signal the most meaningful step yet in the group’s longtime desire to bring a professional team to Portland. The impending purchase of the sprawling property may be what’s necessary to keep Portland as a competitive city as MLB ponders expanding from 30 to 32 teams.
Update 9:30 am Tuesday: The Portland Diamond Project in a press release on Monday night provided additional details of the agreement. The group signed a Letter of Intent with the Zidells to purchase the property. The terms of the LOI gives the group 42 months to complete the purchase. What that likely means: if the city doesn’t get a team as part of MLB’s expansion, the deal is off.
In a review of which cities might get those new teams, ESPN earlier this year rated Portland’s chances as pretty good, particularly since none of the other leading contenders is on the West Coast (with the debatable exception of Salt Lake City). “If MLB puts one team in the West and one in the East, that makes Portland a front-runner,” ESPN wrote. “Portland is also the largest market in the country with just one of the four major pro sports teams.”
Zidell Yards, owned by the Zidell family, has sat fallow for years after the city of Portland and the Zidells failed to pencil out a high-rise development project in 2018. It’s unclear what the property is currently valued at.
Earlier this year, the Portland Diamond Project announced that it was in discussions with the City of Portland to purchase the RedTail golf center in Beaverton for a baseball stadium. It’s unclear if those discussions ever led anywhere. The year prior, in 2023, the group was eyeing the Lloyd Center for a baseball stadium.
Craig Cheek, the founder and president of the Portland Diamond Project, declined to comment. So did Johnell Bell, whose consulting firm, Espousal Strategies, is working for the Portland Diamond Project.
The Zidell family made its fortune building barges. When the company ceased building on the Willamette, it worked with Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development agency, on a plan to convert its former shipyard into a mixed-use development combining retail, office and residential space. But after years of negotiations, the Zidell company, ZRZ Realty, Inc. and city officials failed to conclude deal. That was back in 2018 and the property has hosted a variety of events since but nobody has been able to unlock its potential.
It is not immediately clear what price the Portland Diamond Project and ZRZ are discussing, or have agreed upon.
Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lobbying firm representing the Zidell family-controlled company that owns the property also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.