Seahawks' Wilson joins group trying to bring MLB team to Portland

The ongoing effort to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to Portland has a prominent new booster, as Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson announced Friday that he and his wife, Ciara, have joined the Portland Diamond Project as investors.

The extent of the couple's financial contributions wasn't disclosed - Wilson and Ciara each invested individually - but the one-time Super Bowl champion said they're now "part owners" of the Portland Diamond Project, the management group spearheading the drive for a big-league club in the city.

"It is time for MLB in Portland," Wilson said in a news release obtained by Andrew Greif of The Oregonian.

The management group, formed last July by former Nike president Craig Cheek, has already made preliminary bids for two potential stadium sites in Portland, and a Port of Portland spokeswoman confirmed earlier this week that a third site is being considered as well. Wilson and Ciara will tour the first two sites Saturday.

Wilson was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the fourth round of the 2010 draft and spent two seasons in the minors before electing to play professional football instead.

In September, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred identified the West Coast as fertile territory for potential expansion, and specifically listed Portland - the 26th-biggest city in the United States by population - as a candidate.

"Portland would be on the list," he told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. "I think Portland is a possibility. You can think about the prospects on the West Coast probably as effectively as I can."