A rendering of a potential baseball stadium in the Portland metro area provided by the Portland Diamond Project. The investor group announced Tuesday it signed a letter of intent to purchase Zidell Yards on the city's South Waterfront.
Courtesy of Portland Diamond Project
A group of investors hoping to bring Major League Baseball to Portland is one step closer to securing a stadium site.
The Portland Diamond Project said Tuesday it signed a letter of intent to buy Zidell Yards in the city’s South Waterfront area. The group wants to transform the 33-acre former shipyard into a ballpark that meets requirements to host a Major League Baseball team.
“There have been numerous proposals over the years on what should become of Zidell Yards,” Jay Zidell, president of Zidell Companies, said in a statement about the letter of intent. “I think the potential for a future professional baseball stadium is an ideal use of the land. Who wouldn’t want to watch baseball with the Willamette River as the backdrop?”
Zidell Yards is nestled between the bank of the Willamette River and South Moody Avenue in Portland. The former shipbuilding location between the Ross Island Bridge and the South Waterfront campus of Oregon Health & Science University has hosted public events, including socially distanced concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
The parcel of land is currently owned by the Zidell family company ZRZ Real Estate. It could take up to three and half years for the purchase to become final.
The Portland Diamond Project has explored other possible locations, including the Red Tail Golf Center, the Lloyd District and a Port of Portland terminal.
Zidell Yards, on Portland’s South Waterfront, as seen in this satellite image from May 2024. The Portland Diamond Project announced Tuesday it signed a letter of intent to purchase the site, aiming to build a ballpark that would meet Major League Baseball requirements.
Map data: ©2024 Google