By Perry Green, AFRO Sports Editor
Major League Baseball may soon be adding a little more color to its owners’ suites.
According to ESPN, Seattle Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, star R&B/pop singer Ciara, have joined a venture group looking to bring a pro baseball team to Portland, Ore.
In this July 31, 2017, file photo, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson walks with his wife, pop singer Ciara, after NFL football training camp in Renton, Wash. Russell Wilson and his wife, the singer Ciara, have joined the effort to bring Major League Baseball to Portland. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Portland Diamond Project, the company leading the push, announced Friday, June 1, 2018, that the husband-and-wife celebrities have each invested individually as “owner/investors” in the project. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
There were no financial details reported outside of an ESPN source claiming that each member of the Portland Diamond Project will be splitting the costs equally in its mission to bring baseball to Portland.
Portland Diamond Project is led by former Nike executive Craig Cheek, who, according to ESPN, met Wilson when the quarterback fist signed his endorsement deal with Nike in 2016. The group plans to acquire land in Portland and start the process of building a stadium.
Wilson is also reportedly a member of another venture group looking to bring an NBA team back to Seattle; there hasn’t been a pro basketball team in Oregon since the Seattle SuperSonics were moved to Oklahoma in 2008, becoming the current Oklahoma City Thunder.
If either of Wilson’s groups are successful in purchasing a team, the transaction would first have to be approved by the NFL, according to ESPN, to prevent any other partners from potential tampering.
If Russell and Ciara become MLB owners, they’ll join a very short list of team owners of minority descent, including Magic Johnson (L.A. Dodgers share owner) and Arturo Moreno, the first Mexican American to ever own a major North American pro sports team (L.A. Angels).
