The Portland Diamond Project has a goal to bring a Major League Baseball team to Oregon’s capital — and Ciara and Russell Wilson have been announced as the latest financial partners to get involved. The entrepreneurial couple hopped on social media to share their excitement over becoming part owners and investors in the initiative.
Ciara said she was “thrilled at the opportunity to be one of only a few African American women to have ownership in a MLB franchise” in a post originally shared on TraceMe, a social media app founded by Wilson. “Growing up in Atlanta, I was a tomboy who ran track and worked the hot dog stand at Turner Field and now I get to watch Future fall in love with T-Ball,” Ciara continued and accompanied the post with an adorable photo of her son in a baseball uniform. She also shared her dream that the business move could possibly empower more women to get involved in sports ownership.
Wilson was similarly nostalgic about watching and playing baseball as a child. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback — who also plays professional baseball — shared what the investment meant to him as a father and hopes to “teach and help inner-city kids all over the world.” Wilson went on to explain the couple’s goal to get more African-Americans involved in the sport and cited statistics of current MLB opening-day rosters. “With this project, we will make sure that every little kid in this country has the opportunity to learn the lessons of sportsmanship and competition.”
See the pair’s announcements below.
Excited to announce that @DangeRussWilson and I are partners and investors in bringing an @MLB team to Portland! Let’s get ready to play ball! ??https://t.co/a3kXwHqtua@PDXDiamondProj #MLBtoPDX
— Ciara (@ciara) June 1, 2018
MLB to Portland! Let’s Go!!! @Ciara & I are pumped to be Owners, Investors, and Partners in bringing @MLB to Rip City! @PDXDiamondProj #MLBtoPDXhttps://t.co/raoe7BzkUA
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) June 1, 2018