Photo: Portland Group Pushing for MLB Team Releases Renderings of Proposed Stadium

The Portland Diamond Project, which is spearheading efforts to bring an MLB team to Portland, Oregon, has released renderings of a proposed waterfront baseball stadium.

The Portland City Council previously backed the Portland Diamond Project's efforts back in October.

Craig Cheek, the founder and president of Portland Diamond Project, offered some details on the stadium Monday at the Oregon State Legislature's House Committee on Economic Development, Small Business and Trade meeting.

"This is going to be world-class state-of-the-art 32,000 seat stadium with a retractable roof, so it will be a civic asset for 365 days a year," Cheek said, per KGW's Alex Jensen.

Cheek further added that the Portland Diamond Project wanted to show MLB that Portland and Oregon are the best city and state for expansion.

As for potential league expansion, commissioner Rob Manfred has previously said that he wanted clarity on the Athletics' and Tampa Bay Rays' future stadium situations before moving forward on that front, per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.

“I understand there seems to be some sense of doubt that persists out there, but [Athletics owner] John Fisher is completely committed to the process,” Manfred said last November. “The building has been demolished, the site is available; they are on track for a 2028 opening. They’ve gone through the process of demonstrating that whether or not he takes local partners, he has the capacity to build the stadium. We're full speed ahead.

“I'm hopeful that we'll be able to work through the situation in Tampa Bay in a way that keeps me on the timetable that I've articulated, which is to have an expansion decision made before I leave in four years.”

So that's still a ways down the line, but it's clear Portland strongly covets an MLB team. However, it also appears that the city is well-prepared to welcome an expansion team should the opportunity arise.