A retired Nike executive connected to a group seeking to bring a Major League Baseball team to Portland has formed a company to facilitate deal-making and to lobby local officials.

Craig Cheek, a former vice president at the footwear giant who oversaw training, baseball and football operations, acknowledged Monday that the company, Portland Diamond Project, is baseball-related but declined to comment further. John McIsaac, who said he has been retained as a spokesman for the would-be baseball management group, acknowledged Cheek's connection to group, which includes former Portland Trail Blazers announcer Mike Barrett.

The logo pictured on the website of the Portland Diamond Project.

Portland Diamond Project was founded last July, according to its articles of organization. No owner or manager is listed. But Cheek's name appears on paperwork the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission showing it sought to raise $6 million and had already sold equity worth $500,000 to two unnamed investors. Cheek is listed on the SEC filing as Portland Diamond Project's executive officer and director, and records show the company is registered at the address of his riverfront home in Lake Oswego.

The company's website went online in July of last year, domain registration records show. The entire site is a landing page showing only a circular blue, black and white logo, with a calligraphy-styled capital "P" in the center.

Lobbyist registration records filed with the state ethics commission and the City of Portland show Cheek's company is being represented by high-power lobbying firm Oxley and Associates. Four days after Oxley was retained, Mayor Ted Wheeler met for breakfast with its vice president, Evyan Andries, at downtown steak and seafood restaurant Jake's Grill, records show. Andries didn't immediately return a request for comment. Wheeler spokesman Michael Cox confirmed the meeting was about bringing an MLB team to Portland.

"They didn't make any asks. They just wanted to brief us on their thoughts," Cox said of the meeting. Cox said he was not present for the one hour appointment.

McIsaac, the company spokesman, said their lobbyists also met with Commissioner Nick Fish, who was unavailable for comment. Fish's public calendar shows he had a 15-minute phone call with Gary Oxley, the lobbying firm's founder, in early March.

Chris Pair, communications director for Gov. Kate Brown, said neither the governor nor her staff have met with the Portland Diamond Project team.

Other than Barrett and Cheek, it's not clear who else is in the would-be management group. Portland-native Dale Murphy, a former major league outfielder who is a seven-time all star and five-time Golden Glove Award winner, said he has attended meetings about bringing an MLB team to Portland, but said he is only "an interested person" and not an investor.

"I've said, 'If there's anything I can do let me know,'" said Murphy, who is also an Oregon Sports Hall of Fame inductee. "I love what they're doing. I love their approach. It seems thorough." Murphy's career earnings are estimated to be nearly $20 million.

McIsaac said Portland Diamond Project is in the midst of land-related transactions, but declined to elaborate. He said the company will make a public announcement Wednesday about its plans.

"This project is a really big deal," McIsaac said.

Portland has long been on the short list for cities that could play host to an MLB team, should the league expand or a team's owners seek to relocate. Sports commentators have mentioned Portland as a possible new home to the Oakland A's, if its owners decide to move the team from the Bay Area due to poor game attendance and other problems.

The state Legislature passed a bill in 2003 to back a potential MLB stadium in Portland with $150 million in public bonding. Plans to bring a team to the Portland-area have popped up several times, but all fell flat, and the bonding money remains unspent.

There's also uncertainty over whether Portland could buoy up a pro baseball team. "There's not a lot of corporate money out there for the sponsorships, ticket sales, skyboxes that you'd need to sustain a major league club," said a Portland lobbyist who has worked on pro sports projects.

Even if a team said it wanted to come to Portland, it's not immediately clear where its ballpark would be. And, many expensive stumbling blocks stand in the way, namely land acquisition and construction costs.

On top of that, a ballpark would need connections to public transit and parking and the blessing of local politicians. Stadium projects often involve massive sums of public financing. But should an MLB team come to Portland, it likely won't get showered with taxpayer financing courtesy of City Hall power brokers.

Cox, the mayor's spokesman, said Wheeler believes it's an exciting prospect that an MLB team could come to Portland. But, Cox said, Wheeler is focused on putting city resources into addressing its foremost problems: homelessness, affordable housing and public safety.

"The mayor at this point has not been asked," Cox said, "nor is he prepared to offer any public incentives."

-- Gordon R. Friedman

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