The Portland Diamond Project says it’s pushing ahead on a plan for a baseball stadium at a Northwest Portland cargo terminal, but rumors are flying over another potential site: the Lloyd Center mall.

The rumor has circulated within the real estate industry, as well as within Portland City Hall, though no one reached by reporters claimed to have direct knowledge of any talks between the Diamond Project — a group of investors hoping to bring Major League Baseball to Portland — and the mall’s owners.

The Diamond Project, for its part, said those rumors didn’t start within its own ranks. Spokesman John McIsaac said the Port of Portland’s little-used Terminal 2 remains its preferred site, and it’s paid $37,500 to extend its negotiations with the Port through August.

But the group has acknowledged that other sites remain on the table. McIsaac declined to discuss other potential sites, including the Lloyd Center. He did not deny it was one site under consideration.

Executives from the Lloyd Center’s parent company, Cypress Equities of Dallas, Texas, didn’t respond to emails or phone messages this week.

Cypress paid $148 million for the 1.2 million-square-foot mall in 2013, and it sunk tens of millions more into an interior and exterior renovation since then. A year ago, the mall announced plans for a LiveNation concert venue in the anchor site that previously housed a Nordstrom store and suggested it was seeking more entertainment-focused tenants.

Shopping malls across the country continue to struggle. Their traditional retail tenants face stiff competition from online competitors, and many have closed stores or shut down altogether.

The Lloyd Center’s owners don’t publicly disclose financial information.

The port site, which sits northwest of the Fremont Bridge, comes with tricky transportation and zoning problems that the Portland Diamond Project has only just begun to address in conversations with city bureaus.

The port has said it no longer sees a need for a marine terminal in the northwest industrial area. Terminal 2 is used only infrequently for specialized cargo.

In addition to the ballpark, the Portland Diamond Project proposal calls for a mixed-use development that includes hundreds of apartments, restaurants and other enter options.

On Monday, it announced a labor peace agreement with the Oregon AFL-CIO and affiliated unions. The agreement provides for the possibility of future employees of a ballpark to unionize. It doesn’t cover the project’s construction.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com; 503-294-5034; facebook.com/elliotnjus

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