Portland Diamond Project (MLB) | Proposed

[PdX Farr]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

Yup just what I thought. When Canzano never mentioned it again I knew the As never even came.

I have no idea why they would want Vegas. They already have the NHL and NFL. For such a tiny market they are starting to be over saturated

I believe the word was that they offered a tour of the city via helicopter because they didn't want to show the conditions downtown up close and the A's declined. Las Vegas's mayor has stated that the A's have been in discussion for "awhile".

“For over 20 years these talks have included dialogue with league commissioners, and for the Oakland A’s these have been occurring since 2019,” Goodman said in a statement. “Las Vegas is excited.”

https://yournews.com/2021/05/13/2121...ed-relocation/

Originally Posted by 2oh1

Las Vegas is not a tiny market. Generations ago, it was, but not anymore. It's ranked market #40 for TV, #31 for radio, and it's growing rapidly. That isn't a true representation of the money to be made there, however, since it's such a massive tourist destination.

There's a reason why the NFL and NHL are in Vegas now.

Yes, Las Vegas is growing and will support the team locally and with tourists.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by PdX Farr

It was called the Oregon Stadium Campaign. Maury Brown ran the forums (ill save opinion), Platt was heavily involved. The website no longer seems to be up but I found this:
https://www.oregonstadiumcampaign.co...mlb_082604.pdf

*edit* I wanted to add that the people wanting to retire the bill think the funds could be better used. They apparently have no idea how the bill is funded (no funds without a team...). Typical Oregon politics.


I have family in LV and the A's never even came to Portland. They have been in talks with Vegas for awhile and they believe its a forgone conclusion that the A's will end up in Vegas.

It wouldn't surprise me if the owner of the A's has only ever intended on moving the team to Las Vegas. I always figured the only way the team would come to Portland would be if he sold the team, and I don't see that happening.

It would be nice if he would just pull the trigger and move the team so that the MLB can do their expansion and Portland can get one of those teams.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

Las Vegas is not a tiny market. Generations ago, it was, but not anymore. It's ranked market #40 for TV, #31 for radio, and it's growing rapidly. That isn't a true representation of the money to be made there, however, since it's such a massive tourist destination.

There's a reason why the NFL and NHL are in Vegas now.

Las Vegas has something that makes it a good market for pro teams, wealthy people and a wealthy metro that is willing to throw money at expensive toys like billion dollar stadiums.

I mean, I would never root for a LV team, but if I was in Vegas and had a chance to go to one of their expensive state of the art stadiums, I would probably go catch a game.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Las Vegas has something that makes it a good market for pro teams, wealthy people and a wealthy metro that is willing to throw money at expensive toys like billion dollar stadiums.

I mean, I would never root for a LV team, but if I was in Vegas and had a chance to go to one of their expensive state of the art stadiums, I would probably go catch a game.

I've been thinking the exact same thing, on both counts.

Some teams get a huge home field advantage because the fans are local and passionate. The Seahawks. The Packers. The Colts, during the Manning era. Peyton had that entire city trained on how to behave when their offense was on the field. The Raiders aren't going to get that due to the amount of tourists who will be thrilled to go to games... but dollars are dollars and the Raiders will be a financially successful franchise in Vegas.

I remember watching the Steelers play against the Chargers in San Diego. It felt like a home game for the STEELERS. The same thing may happen in Vegas... but, again, dollars are dollars, and in that sense, the Raiders will be successful in Vegas. A baseball team probably will too.

[uncommon.name]

"Alameda County approves Oakland waterfront ballpark plan

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval to a financing district key for development of a new Oakland Athletics ballpark and $11 billion in related development.

The 4-1 vote came after months of speculation as to whether the county would sign off on the proposal, which was largely hammered out earlier by city officials. The city of Oakland and the A’s have already come to an agreement on the creation of an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) to fund infrastructure upgrades in the Howard Terminal area..."

Read more at Ballpark Digest...

This is a big step for Oakland to retain the A's. If this moves forward, that is one piece of the puzzle solved. This could mean that Portland's shot at landing an MLB franchise will more likely happen if the league decides to move forward with expansion. The MLB commissioner had previously stated that expansion would not be considered until Oakland and the Tampa Bay Ray's had both figured out their stadium issues.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by uncommon.name

"Alameda County approves Oakland waterfront ballpark plan

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval to a financing district key for development of a new Oakland Athletics ballpark and $11 billion in related development.

The 4-1 vote came after months of speculation as to whether the county would sign off on the proposal, which was largely hammered out earlier by city officials. The city of Oakland and the A’s have already come to an agreement on the creation of an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) to fund infrastructure upgrades in the Howard Terminal area..."

Read more at Ballpark Digest...

This is a big step for Oakland to retain the A's. If this moves forward, that is one piece of the puzzle solved. This could mean that Portland's shot at landing an MLB franchise will more likely happen if the league decides to move forward with expansion. The MLB commissioner had previously stated that expansion would not be considered until Oakland and the Tampa Bay Ray's had both figured out their stadium issues.

This is actually good news for Portland because it didn't seem like the owner of the A's wanted to move to Portland, especially when he could potentially get Vegas throwing all that money at him. Keeping the team in Oakland would be good for Oakland for retaining one of their pro teams they had.

With this moving forward, I wouldn't be surprised if expansion talks are not that far off because the Rays also have their issues finished due to not being able to figure out what to do before being locked into a long term deal for their stadium in St Pete because the owners of the Rays really wanted to keep the team in the Tampa metro.

If an expansion happens, Portland would almost certainly get one of the two new teams.



Also to add to this, it looks like the Lloyd Center is headed into foreclosure with $110 million in debt. So expect changes to the Lloyd Center in the future, which probably won't be in the form of a traditional mall since it is basically bleeding money.

[PdX Farr]

The A's will 100% end up in Vegas.

[CorbinWarrick]

Originally Posted by PdX Farr

The A's will 100% end up in Vegas.

Well not no more. A’s just got what they asked for to stay in Oakland

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

This is actually good news for Portland because it didn't seem like the owner of the A's wanted to move to Portland, especially when he could potentially get Vegas throwing all that money at him. Keeping the team in Oakland would be good for Oakland for retaining one of their pro teams they had.

With this moving forward, I wouldn't be surprised if expansion talks are not that far off because the Rays also have their issues finished due to not being able to figure out what to do before being locked into a long term deal for their stadium in St Pete because the owners of the Rays really wanted to keep the team in the Tampa metro.

If an expansion happens, Portland would almost certainly get one of the two new teams.



Also to add to this, it looks like the Lloyd Center is headed into foreclosure with $110 million in debt. So expect changes to the Lloyd Center in the future, which probably won't be in the form of a traditional mall since it is basically bleeding money.

I agree 110%. I think this moves us forward with expansion and the MLB should be chomping at the bit to get an AL team in Portland for that northwest rivalry with Seattle. I think Vegas may also end up with a team since they are pretty much buying their way into every major league these days.

Sad to see Lloyd get to this but I think we all knew it was inevitable. It will be very interesting to see what happens to that area over the next few years.

[PdX Farr]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

Well not no more. A’s just got what they asked for to stay in Oakland

No they didnt... That vote did less than the bill Oregon passed for the Expos went to DC. The A's are still very much moving on Vegas.

https://preview.redd.it/0utfz6rws1x7...=webp&c5083464

[Tykendo]

The A's are pretty much a done deal for Vegas. Oakland dropped the ball on the whole stadium proposal, and the dickering around is gonna cost them their team. I don't hate that the A's are moving, i hate that they're moving to Vegas. A city built on losing. A city where they don't have a sustainable water source. So yippee, they get another team because billionaires like blowing their money there too. It pisses me off that the beautiful Portland proposal is basically a lot of pretty renderings that will never see the light of day. I deliver in North Portland and look out over the overlook towards where the Stadium would be built and dream how awesome it would be to see that translucent roof in the distance. I guess it will only be a dream.

[PhillyPDX]

I've heard that A's and Tampa situations are a good thing for Portland. It wasn't likely PDX would get A's or TB, expansion would always be the most likely path. And MLB has publicly stated they won't consider expansion (which they apparently want to do) until A's and TB situations are figured out and settled.

It's crazy to me a random gambling outpost in the middle of the desert will (likely) soon have 3 professional sports teams. Although it probably does make sense since it's one of the easiest cities to fly to in the country, and so much of sports is all about the betting. I hate gambling on principle, but I have many friends across the country that spend annual trips in Vegas and they do (casual) sports betting while there. Why not catch a game (maybe even watch your team) while there? Heck, build a bookie right in the arena! Why watch on tv when you can watch live?

[subterranean]

I think it's well established at this point that owners are only interested in the largest markets and/or very "business friendly" places for new sports teams/stadia. Places that bend over backwards for new development (rust belt) and have the economic incentives for such things, or those that are already sun belt/republican. I think it's an unfortunate situation, but billionaires are after all only interested in one thing, and thus MLB as well.

Sadly I don't know enough about pro baseball governance, but it's too bad we couldn't get an MLB team that has a similar ownership structure to the Green Bay Packers. We're a passionate place that takes pride in our teams, and quirky enough to maybe make it work. Many of the football clubs (Detroit, Seattle) have at least some fraction of fan ownership. I just hate the way cities and fans fall all over themselves trying to attract big economic development opportunities like stadiums and Amazon HQ2 competitions. I think it brings out the worst in humanity. At the same time, I'm with you all. It would be so awesome to have a pro baseball team here.

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by Tykendo

The A's are pretty much a done deal for Vegas. Oakland dropped the ball on the whole stadium proposal, and the dickering around is gonna cost them their team. I don't hate that the A's are moving, i hate that they're moving to Vegas. A city built on losing. A city where they don't have a sustainable water source. So yippee, they get another team because billionaires like blowing their money there too. It pisses me off that the beautiful Portland proposal is basically a lot of pretty renderings that will never see the light of day. I deliver in North Portland and look out over the overlook towards where the Stadium would be built and dream how awesome it would be to see that translucent roof in the distance. I guess it will only be a dream.

Only thing I can't agree with is the water comment. Vegas is very close to the Colorado River and in my opinion should have more water rights than Cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix, which are quite literally sucking that river dry.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

It's crazy to me a random gambling outpost in the middle of the desert will (likely) soon have 3 professional sports teams. Although it probably does make sense since it's one of the easiest cities to fly to in the country...

Indeed, the fact that Las Vegas even exists is bizarre, but it has grown to become a surprisingly large city, and that's without the tourists. The metro area has 2.3 million people (granted, Portland has 2.5 million), but before the pandemic, Vegas was seeing 42 million visitors per year. That's insane.

You can be sure lots of NFL fans book trips to Vegas if their team plays the Raiders. It's only a matter of time before every major league sport has a team there.

And on the flip-side... look at Oakland. In the past four years they lost NFL, NBA, and now MLB teams.

[subterranean]

Vegas is also nearly as dense as Portland at 4,525.16/sq mi (vs 4,888.10/sq mi). Metro Las Vegas has a weighted population density of 7,031.7 ppsm vs Metro Portland's 5,058.8 ppsm.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by subterranean

Vegas is also nearly as dense as Portland at 4,525.16/sq mi (vs 4,888.10/sq mi). Metro Las Vegas has a weighted population density of 7,031.7 ppsm vs Metro Portland's 5,058.8 ppsm.

I don't know where the Vegas density number came from but I can't figure out how this number came about because when I do the math, it comes to much lower for Vegas.

Originally Posted by Tykendo

The A's are pretty much a done deal for Vegas. Oakland dropped the ball on the whole stadium proposal, and the dickering around is gonna cost them their team. I don't hate that the A's are moving, i hate that they're moving to Vegas. A city built on losing. A city where they don't have a sustainable water source. So yippee, they get another team because billionaires like blowing their money there too. It pisses me off that the beautiful Portland proposal is basically a lot of pretty renderings that will never see the light of day. I deliver in North Portland and look out over the overlook towards where the Stadium would be built and dream how awesome it would be to see that translucent roof in the distance. I guess it will only be a dream.

The A's were never coming to Portland unless it involved the owner selling the team. It seems like he has been focused on Vegas the whole time because that metro is most likely gonna build the team a billion dollar stadium. I totally get why Oakland let go of their sports teams, they honestly didn't need them and they especially didn't need to fund their stadiums. Oakland will just redevelop the land that the stadiums were using for much needed housing.

Portland is in the running for an expansion team, and if the A's are getting a new ballpark in the Vegas metro and the Rays are basically stuck in St Pete for the next decade with possible plans to eventually move to Montreal.....or stay in St Pete.....or try to get a stadium built in Tampa before the planet gets hit with an Earth killing asteroid, I imagine we will start seeing the MLB seriously talk about expansion teams to round out the league.

As for the proposal on the waterfront, I am not sure how much of a realistic idea that was since it would be so far removed from mass transit in the city and would put it in an odd spot to attract traffic to. My money is still on the Lloyd Center being the realistic location for a new ballpark and urban redevelopment. I like this whole "locals mall" thing that has been happening at the Lloyd Center, but I do question its sustainability without big anchors to draw in larger crowds.

[PacificStates]

I agree that it's unlikely to be built in that location, particularly now that it looks like something else is about to swoop in and take its place.

Early Assistance was recently requested for the site:

"The purpose of this project is to reconfigure existing property lines to facilitate the Port's future establishment of a mass timber manufacturing innovation center campus on the upland area of the site while continuing to maintain the existing dredge operations and moorage on the waterfront portion of the site."

https://www.portlandmaps.com/detail/...did/?p=R315985

[PhillyPDX]

Not sure where else to post this, but since Lloyd is the best site, I’ll post it here. Really feels like west coast cities are losing their steam. Sucks.

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/20...s-to-wait.html

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

Not sure where else to post this, but since Lloyd is the best site, I’ll post it here. Really feels like west coast cities are losing their steam. Sucks.

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/20...s-to-wait.html

Honestly, I could see both Portland and SLC getting an MLB team. The only thing that could really screw over SLC's bid would be Las Vegas or if MLB wants a second Canada team. Of course a second Canada team in Vancouver could screw over Portland...but I don't know if Vancouver is even trying for that.

I also think MLB needs to rethink their structure. They currently have 13 teams with an average attendance under 25K. I think for the future of the league, they need to look at smaller ballparks and possibly even downsizing the league (though that would be a tough one since billionaires would be mad.) The league definitely could use more presence in the Northwest, and Portland and SLC would fill that itch if they both had about a 30K stadium.