In a bid to bring professional baseball to Portland, Oregon lawmakers have decided they’re swinging for the fences.

Senate Bill 110 sailed through the Oregon Legislature with bipartisan support, passing the House of Representatives on a 46-6 vote Tuesday.

The bill authorizes $800 million in bonds to help fund the construction of a professional baseball stadium on Portland’s South Waterfront.

Instead of pulling from current state revenue, the bill calls for paying off the bonds through income taxes on players and staff. Proponents say it would be on the team to figure out how to fund the rest of the stadium, expected to cost $2 billion.

There is no guarantee that a team will become a reality for Portland, which does not have an ownership group that has been publicly announced. The city is competing with other cities that are seeking to be home to an MLB expansion team. Salt Lake City, for example, is much further along than Portland, with a site for a stadium and a potential owner.

But SB 110 keeps Portland’s hopes of a new team alive.

“Today is an exciting moment for Oregon,” said Craig Cheek, the founder and president of the Portland Diamond Project, which has been lobbying the Legislature to back the bill this session. “Overwhelmingly passing SB 110 is more than securing funding support for a professional baseball stadium, this bill shows Major League Baseball Oregon is excited about America’s pastime.”

Backers say the proposed stadium — built on the 33-acre Zidell Yards site in Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood— would be a boon for Portland’s struggling economy, creating jobs and attracting fans.

“SB 110 is a bill that everyone can support,” Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, said in a statement Tuesday. “Major League Baseball in Oregon means jobs, development, and long-term investment. With SB 110, we’re ready to compete, think big, and deliver.”

Critics, however, question whether the plan’s finances pencil out and voice skepticism over whether the taxes will be enough to pay off the bonds. John Calhoun, of Tax Fairness Oregon, told OPB he was “disappointed” by the Legislature’s decision, arguing that the stadium costs would impact state revenue.

“It is not free money,” said Calhoun, who added, “Economic denialism is an issue just like climate denialism is an issue. But that’s the way it is. And the legislators were enthusiastic about having a stadium, so that’s what they voted for.”

Supporters say the team would pay for a shortfall. Lawmakers from urban and rural corners of the state backed the bill, even Republicans who have offered no shortage of critiques for the economic problems facing Oregon’s largest city.

“Bringing Major League baseball to Oregon would create an economic boom our state is desperately in need of,” House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, said in a statement Tuesday. “As Oregon’s anti-business climate continues to drive away valuable companies, an MLB stadium would create an opportunity to boost statewide revenue, and also hold Portland leaders accountable for improving safety and quality of life.”

Portland has a long history of trying to woo Major League Baseball.

This year’s bill increases a bond limit set aside by the 2003 passage of Senate Bill 5, which provided $150 million in bonds if Portland ever managed to get a team. That bill was introduced as the Montreal Expos were considering relocation options, but the club ended up in Washington, D.C. in 2005, where it was rebranded as the Nationals.

The bill now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek, who is expected to sign it.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/06/17/oregon-lawmakers-pass-dollar800-million-bill-for-portland-mlb-stadium/