The Portland Diamond Project is expected to announce this week that it has secured land rights to a stadium site for its proposed Major League Baseball ballpark.

The Oregonian/OregonLive has learned that the announcement by the group may include renderings of the ballpark design. The announcement could come as soon as Thursday.

If the Portland Diamond Project's announcement included land rights, or an option to control land, it would set it apart from recent stadium proposal announcements made in Oakland and Tampa Bay.

The Oakland A's announced this week that they would unveil a "bigger than baseball" mega-ballpark on the waterfront at Howard Terminal that would include housing and a shopping district.

But the A's don't currently control land rights for such a stadium.

Craig Cheek, president of the group trying to bring MLB to Portland, is a former Nike executive. Russell Wilson, Seahawks quarterback, said on the nationally broadcast Dan Patrick Show this week that he and his wife, Ciara, were on board.

"You think about the growth of baseball, the growth of baseball, the expansion of it, and what it could mean to the Pacific Northwest," Wilson said. "Portland is such a great city... everybody talks about how much it rains in the Pacific Northwest, but in the summertime, it's beautiful.

"It's a special place and such a growing city as well. It would be an exciting time to have baseball and Major League Baseball in Portland."