SALEM, Ore.-A bill to help bring professional baseball to Portland passed out of the Oregon House on June 17, and is now headed to the desk of Gov. Tina Kotek to be signed into law.
Senate Bill 110, which allows Oregon to accrue $800 million in investor capital to build a stadium on Portland’s South Waterfront if the state is picked as the next new home of Major League Baseball (MLB), passed the House by a 46-6 vote.
“By embarking on this historic investment, we are providing an estimate of 9,000 new construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs in the stadium alone,” said Rep. Dacia Grayber (D-SW Portland & E Beaverton), who co-carried the bill on the floor.
The bill was initially introduced during an informational hearing chaired by Rep. Nguyen in the House Committee on Economic Development, Small Business, and Trade on March 3rd, according to a release from the Oregon House.
MLB is planning to expand from 30 to 32 teams by 2027, however, an official timeline for that expansion has not been announced, and Portland has not been officially approved for expansion.
SB 110 is intended to make Portland competitive with other cities vying for an MLB team, including Nashville, Charlotte and San Antonio in the United States, as well as Montreal and Vancouver in Canada.
The $800 million would not be raised with new taxes for Oregonians, but with an income tax on MLB players and employees over the next 30 years, according to the Portland Diamond Project, the initiative that has long worked to bring professional baseball to the city.
“Major League Baseball in Oregon means jobs, development, and long-term investment,” said Sen. Mark Meek (D-Gladstone). “With SB 110, we’re ready to compete, think big, and deliver.”
