Backers of bringing Major League Baseball to Portland this week unveiled the latest location for a potential ballpark, and it’s the same spot that captured the imagination of some city residents and sporting fans way back when conversations began in earnest six years ago.

The Portland Diamond Project now says it has a deal in place that could allow it to purchase 33 acres of waterfront property just south of downtown, along light rail and streetcar lines, with a picturesque backdrop of the Willamette River.

That’s one of the sites long under consideration, and it comes after the Diamond Project previously touted deals that never materialized: negotiating rights to purchase the Port of Portland’s Terminal 2 north of downtown; an $80 million offer on the Portland Public School’s headquarters that was subsequently withdrawn; a similar $30 million offer to buy RedTail Golf Center near Beaverton; and discussions with the owners of the Lloyd Center.

Given so many locations over such a long stretch of time, it’s hard to read too much into the long-term viability of the latest proposal.

But it also can be a little fun to envision what a riverfront stadium of some sort could look like along the largely barren acreage held by the Zidell family’s ZRZ Realty Co.

The site clearly has a lot going for it, namely access to light rail and streetcar, and the potential for spectacular east-facing views to the river and beyond. It also could pose challenging, with an extremely limited street grid in and out of the area, and two bridges hemming in a possible stadium.

The Oregonian/OregonLive took the footprints of 11 baseball stadiums across the country and created the tool below to show how those stadiums would fit on the property in question.

Can’t see the graphic above? Click here

Craig Cheek, the Portland Diamond Project’s founder and president, said he’s confident a stadium would fit well within the north-end section of the Zidell property, between the Tilikum Crossing and Ross Island bridges. He said backers had been through a similar exercise with their prospective architects, Populous, a global design firm based in Kansas City that specializes in sports venues and arenas. He said stadiums like the one the Oakland Athletics are building in Las Vegas, the renovation of the Cleveland Guardians’ Progressive Field, and the Minnesota Twins’ Target Field in Minneapolis would all fit within that footprint at the Zidell property. (The newsroom’s mapping showed Cleveland’s stadium footprint, as configured, appearing too large for the South Waterfront).

In any event, a stadium in Portland would likely need a dome to shield the field from rainy spring days. And while you can’t shoehorn a T-Mobile Park, the roofed home of the Seattle Mariners, onto the Portland property, Creek said retractable roof technology has come a long way since construction began there in 1997. Today, best-in-class technologies being deployed at stadiums in the English Premiere League and various tennis venues require far less real estate.

Creek spoke with enthusiasm Tuesday about the latest location after so many other sites ultimately fell through.

“This is solid. We have a terms agreement,” he said in an interview. “What it does is create the momentum for us to finish getting ready to lure an MLB franchise. Real estate is a very key piece of the puzzle. The league wants to know where you’re going to be playing and what that looks like.”

The Portland Diamond Project now has a letter of intent in place to buy the former shipyard from the Zidell family. Terms weren’t disclosed, but backers will have 120 days to complete due diligence on the site and 3 1/2 years to finalize the purchase.

A stadium pegged for the area between the Tilikum Crossing and Ross Island bridges would have home plate sitting near S. Moody Avenue and the outfield backing onto the Willamette River. A new entertainment district could be built south of the Ross Island Bridge, one that lures tourists and locals alike into what is today a fairly sleepy and sedate neighborhood.

Expect full blown renderings sometime soon, Cheek said, capturing the transformation potential of the project.

Backers of the Portland Diamond Project have been trying to bring Major League Baseball to Portland since 2017, with potential locations a hot topic of conversation since at least 2018.

Even with the potential of settling on a location, baseball proponents would still need to secure financing to build the stadium, plus convince Major League Baseball that Portland should jump to the front of the line for an expansion team.

“We really think it’s an iconic site,” Cheek said of the latest location. “It puts us back in the front of the conversation, and we’ll try to build momentum off of this.”

— Ted Sickinger is a reporter on the investigations team. Reach him at 503-221-8505, tsickinger@oregonian.com or @tedsickinger

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