A Major League Baseball franchise has sent delegations on fact-finding missions to Vancouver twice in the last two years, including one visit to determine the viability of hosting games at B.C. Place Stadium in the event of a structural emergency with its home venue.



The Arizona Diamondbacks visited the Canadian city in 2018 amid concerns over the state of repairs at Chase Field, in Phoenix. Vancouver was on a list of a half-dozen potential (temporary) homes the team had received from MLB headquarters.



“While working at Major League Baseball, I provided the team with numerous possibilities, including Vancouver,” Joe Garagiola Jr., who is now special advisor to the Diamondbacks’ chief executive, said in a written statement to The Athletic. “Club executives visited there to determine the reality of making it a contingency plan.”



According to a government official in British Columbia who requested anonymity, the visitors received a...