The ownership group focused on bringing Major League Baseball to Portland met privately with city officials to discuss downtown Portland stadium plans, The Oregonian/OregonLive has learned.

A city hall source confirmed that Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is in communication with representatives of the group. A second source indicated that the group is engaged in talks to secure two potential stadium sites.

I love the idea of baseball in Portland. A lot of you do, too. But the hang-up in our state and in the city of Portland has always been the notion of using public dollars to fund a stadium. The latest murmur is that the Portland-based group would use mostly private funds.

There's an expected news release coming this week from the group. I'd target mid-week for that if you're following this closely. But it feels like this is a real effort with some real possibilities.

Last September, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that Portland would be on a list of potential expansion cities. The potential stadium would include funding from a $150 million grant that was approved by the state of Oregon in 2003 when the Expos were exploring relocation.

In October, former Trail Blazers broadcaster Mike Barrett confirmed that he was part of the group. He said, "There is also a formally organized, sophisticated and seasoned management group running this initiative."

Relocating a current MLB franchise such as the Oakland A's or Tampa Rays is also a viable option in this sports columnist's opinion. Maybe the more likely option in fact. Neither franchise has a viable stadium plan. There's a lot of posturing but no real action. Both could move, with Montreal and Portland ending up as the merry beneficiaries.

The A's, who are seeking a new stadium, have emerged as a possible candidate for relocation to Portland in the last few months. It makes sense. They'd stay in the West. They've been forced to seek alternatives for a new stadium site after their initial choice in Oakland, a plot of land near downtown, became unavailable when talks broke down between the A's and the Peralta Community College District.

The latest plan in Oakland involves the possibility of using an aerial tram as a mode of transportation from downtown Oakland into a new stadium on the waterfront.

Aerial tram?

Portland already has one of those, yeah?