This past week, the Portland City Council approved $120 million to pay for much-needed renovations to the Moda Center, home to the Portland Trail Blazers. Combined with already approved state and county funds, that totals $586 million for the renovations.
However, all the funding hinges on the Trail Blazers agreeing to a new lease that would keep the team in Portland through 2050. The Trail Blazers — particularly owner Tom Dundon — and the city disagree over some key terms of that lease and are entering negotiations. There is a deadline to sign that lease by the end of the year, or the state money ($365 million) goes away.
There are two ways this is likely to play out: Either, by Dec. 17 (a deciding City Council vote on the lease terms), the City of Portland and Dundon's Trail Blazers will have agreed on a new lease that will keep the beloved franchise in Portland for another two decades; or we will know that Dundon bought the team with the intention of moving it, a script the Pacific Northwest has seen before.
Notice that the Trail Blazers themselves are not on the list of groups contributing to the Moda Center refurbishment — Dundon said at a meeting in Portland he thought the team contributed enough by the taxes it pays in the state. That follows his pattern since buying the team.
Dundon has not made friends in Oregon since buying the Trail Blazers — and absolutely wasted the honeymoon period new owners usually get with fan bases. He has come off as entitled, a billionaire penny-pincher treating the team like a private equity **** et, not acting as a steward of a brand and franchise important to the community.
#million
However, all the funding hinges on the Trail Blazers agreeing to a new lease that would keep the team in Portland through 2050. The Trail Blazers — particularly owner Tom Dundon — and the city disagree over some key terms of that lease and are entering negotiations. There is a deadline to sign that lease by the end of the year, or the state money ($365 million) goes away.
There are two ways this is likely to play out: Either, by Dec. 17 (a deciding City Council vote on the lease terms), the City of Portland and Dundon's Trail Blazers will have agreed on a new lease that will keep the beloved franchise in Portland for another two decades; or we will know that Dundon bought the team with the intention of moving it, a script the Pacific Northwest has seen before.
Notice that the Trail Blazers themselves are not on the list of groups contributing to the Moda Center refurbishment — Dundon said at a meeting in Portland he thought the team contributed enough by the taxes it pays in the state. That follows his pattern since buying the team.
Dundon has not made friends in Oregon since buying the Trail Blazers — and absolutely wasted the honeymoon period new owners usually get with fan bases. He has come off as entitled, a billionaire penny-pincher treating the team like a private equity **** et, not acting as a steward of a brand and franchise important to the community.
#million
1 month ago
