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Portland baseball boosters said Thursday that they鈥檙e closer than ever to securing a Major League Baseball team.

鈥淲e are at a point we have not been at before,鈥� said Mike Barrett, managing director of the Portland Diamond Project (PDP). 鈥淲e鈥檙e feeling better than ever and more confident than ever about where we are.鈥�

The baseball group has a ballpark site: In September, PDP representatives said they had signed a letter of intent and term sheet with the Zidell family to purchase Zidell Yards, a 33-acre former industrial site in the South Waterfront District.

Now, the baseball group is waiting for MLB to expand or move a team to Portland.

鈥淲e only control this part,鈥� Barrett said of the local MLB effort. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 control that part.鈥�

Barrett鈥檚 comments came during a breakfast forum hosted by the Portland Metro Chamber at the downtown Hilton hotel.

Barrett said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has assured him that the league is interested in adding a team in the West.

鈥淢LB needs another Pacific time zone team, particularly if they lose the A鈥檚 to Las Vegas, which may not be a done deal, but we鈥檙e hearing may be the case,鈥� Barrett said.

The A鈥檚, formerly based in Oakland, California, are moving to Sacramento beginning with the 2025 season for three years, with the expectation that the team鈥檚 new ballpark will be ready on the Las Vegas Strip by 2028.

Barrett and others said Portland is ready for an MLB team. It鈥檚 the 25th-most populous metropolitan area in the United States, and several MLB cities are smaller. The Portland Timbers and Thorns pro soccer teams have been embraced, the NBA鈥檚 Trail Blazers are investing in the Moda Center, and a WNBA team is coming.

Portlanders are hungry for baseball, Barrett said. The Portland market had the nation鈥檚 fourth-highest TV ratings for the 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, he said.

It鈥檚 crucial for Portland sports fans to continue to support other pro teams in the city, boosters said, because MLB will be looking at their attendance and corporate support when deciding on its next moves.

An MLB team 鈥渨ould significantly elevate everything in town,鈥� said Jim Etzel, CEO of Sport Oregon.

Barrett said he鈥檚 had encouraging conversations with corporate sponsors, including Anheuser-Busch 鈥� part of the AB InBev beverage conglomerate.

Nashville, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina, were regarded as early competition for Portland in the bid for an MLB team. But, more recently, Salt Lake City has gained ground, Barrett said.

鈥淪alt Lake City has put together a pretty nice package, and they鈥檙e making a pretty nice run at it,鈥� he said.

MLB鈥檚 next expansion round will likely debut two more teams, bringing the league to 32 total franchises. Portland, located between Seattle and San Francisco, makes sense, Barrett said.

Design work on a future Portland ballpark has continued with the Zidell Yards site in mind. PDP has new architectural renderings in hand but cannot release them at this time, Barrett said. Designers are working to incorporate Tilikum Crossing, which lands at the property鈥檚 riverfront edge, with the ballpark site, he noted.

TVA Architects and Populous, a firm in Kansas City, Missouri, known for stadium work, are engaged in the design effort.

PDP has agreed to a project labor agreement during construction, said Graham Trainor, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. Workers are ready to take on the project, he said.

PDP has no plans to pursue additional public subsidies, Barrett said, but added that he could not comment on public infrastructure needs related to the ballpark.

Barrett also said he could not reveal more about the group鈥檚 ownership. NFL quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, singer Ciara, were previously announced as members. But it鈥檚 a capable group, Barrett added.

鈥淏e comfortable with the notion that we are OK there,鈥� he said.

Metro officials will soon travel to Salem to speak with elected officials, said Andrew Hoan, president and CEO of the Portland Metro Chamber, and the MLB ballpark is 鈥渙ne of the top priorities of this organization.鈥�

Metro representatives will travel to Minneapolis in February, Hoan added, to learn about 鈥渂est practices.鈥� Target Field, home of MLB鈥檚 Minnesota Twins, was completed in 2010 with the help of $350 million in bonds issued by Hennepin County. Officials there have said the bonds are on track to be paid off a decade early.