{"id":2051737,"date":"2026-07-20T03:16:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2051737"},"modified":"2026-07-20T03:16:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:16:05","slug":"trail-blazers-portland-very-far-apart-on-lease-agreement-as-arena-saga-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2051737","title":{"rendered":"Trail Blazers, Portland \u2018very far apart\u2019 on lease agreement as arena saga continues"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PORTLAND, Ore. \u2014 The difference in opinion is widening between the Trail Blazers and the city of Portland as the NBA team\u2019s new ownership looks for public funding to renovate the arena where it plays its games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are very far apart,\u2019\u2019 said a team source Sunday, one of two within the Blazers who were granted anonymity to discuss the situation freely.<\/p>\n

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On Friday, the city of Portland sent the Blazers a term sheet for a 20-year-lease agreement. If the Blazers agree to the terms, the team would receive $600 million in public funds to renovate the Moda Center. Of significance, the city is asking the Blazers to pay $3 million annually for a property tax offset, which would escalate over time. Additionally, the deal would require the Blazers to hire union workers and set caps on project-cost overruns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe term sheet is a non-starter,\u2019\u2019 the source said. \u201cI don\u2019t know why they sent it to us, because they know very little of the stuff we would agree to. They are playing politics at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trail Blazers\u2019 board of directors meets Monday and will address the term sheet to determine a course of action. The city is set to vote on the funding Aug. 12. A deal must be struck before Dec. 31 for $365 million in state funding to be included.<\/p>\n

The Trail Blazers\u2019 future in Portland could be at stake. Their lease ends in 2030, and there is unspoken tension about whether new owner Tom Dundon would move the team to another city. Two high-ranking sources inside the Blazers said Dundon has never mentioned relocating the Trail Blazers.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one with the Blazers has ever said we want to move,\u2019\u2019 a team source said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want that. We want to stay in Portland.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Both the Blazers and city politicians have accused the other of foul play. Some city council members are upset because they feel the Blazers haven\u2019t been transparent in how the public funds would be spent.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think the Blazers have been behaving poorly,\u2019\u2019 councilor Mitch Green said. \u201cThey thought because they passed the state legislature (for $365 million in funding) that the deal was done. But we have a set of councilors who are asking tough questions. And this is Portland, Oregon, where people want more public transparency than there has been.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

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The Blazers say their reluctance to share renovation plans is twofold: 1) Most of their renovation plans are \u201cideas or concepts.\u201d 2) They were offended when councilor Steve Novick in June threatened to sue them for not maintaining the Moda Center as a first-class venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t even want to respond to the term sheet until they remove that gun to our head,\u2019\u2019 a source said, referring to Novick\u2019s threat.<\/p>\n

Another Blazers source said they don\u2019t want to share plans of what they want to renovate until they are assured the information they provide won\u2019t be included in a suit.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
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\n How a controversial new NBA owner funded an NHL powerhouse to the Stanley Cup Final\n <\/div>\n
\n In Carolina, credit for the Hurricanes’ success flows to the top. In Portland, the Blazers’ new owner has been met with a rockier reception.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cOn the one hand, they say we haven\u2019t kept the building up,\u2019\u2019 one Blazers source said. \u201cBut at the same time, they are saying, \u2018What\u2019s wrong with the building?\u2019 There\u2019s a lot of talking out of both sides of their mouth.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Included in the Blazers\u2019 renovation concepts are a new atrium entrance on the north side of the arena, which would ease the flow of traffic entering and exiting the building. Also, the arena operates with one main kitchen; the hope is to have kitchens on all three levels to enhance fans\u2019 concession experience. There are also concepts for eliminating some of the 300-level seating and building a bar, as well as updating the club-level seating.<\/p>\n

Green, the councilor for Portland\u2019s fourth district, said he and the 11 other councilors want to be informed before agreeing to a deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to see a scope and scale of what this money is paying for,\u2019\u2019 Green said. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty basic. So, they need to make a good-faith effort on that. You\u2019ve got a city council that is not a rubber-stamp council, and, depending on where you sit in the city, that may be a good or bad thing. But those are the stakes, and those are the conditions (the Blazers) face. What\u2019s standing between the Trail Blazers and a bunch of public money for a stadium deal is their willingness to accommodate this council.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

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In March, the Blazers thought they had a deal with the city after securing a $365 million commitment from the state for renovations to the Moda Center. That sum is contingent upon the city of Portland agreeing to release $120 million in funds and Multnomah County adding $88 million. The Blazers say a handshake agreement with Mayor Keith Wilson, the city and the county was made in March, and are confused why there has been a shift.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have made this a bit of a political football,\u2019\u2019 said a second source inside the Blazers. \u201cThey\u2019re asking for things that change the deal dramatically.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Elliott Kozuch, a spokesman for the city administrator, confirmed there was momentum with city officials in March toward reaching an agreement, but nothing concrete.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile city leadership did endorse the conceptual funding proposal in March, it was always clear that City Council and County Commission approval would be required to formalize the local government commitments,\u2019\u2019 Kozuch said.<\/p>\n

Kozuch said the Blazers have worked with the City Administrator\u2019s office by sharing some of their plans, but added that the city needs to see more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trail Blazers shared high-level concepts for potential upgrades to the arena, but the city has not received a formal design review or detailed project plan. A complete understanding of proposed improvements will require additional information as negotiations continue.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Where those future negotiations are headed remains unclear, but right now each side is digging in, believing they have the leverage.<\/p>\n

A Blazers source said the team has been examining other recent arena deals in Oklahoma City and Utah, and may start looking for a new deal in Portland \u2014 which might even include asking for a new arena in Portland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city\u2019s delay has given us time to study what a market deal is,\u2019\u2019 the Blazers source said. \u201cAnd let\u2019s just say the $600 million deal that was supposed to be done six months ago was a way-below-market deal.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Green said the threat of Dundon leaving Portland doesn\u2019t move him.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvery indication I read about Tom Dundon is that he makes decisions based almost solely upon whether or not it\u2019s going to increase his profit,\u2019\u2019 Green said. \u201cIf he moves the team, it\u2019s because he thinks he can get a better deal. And if I\u2019m in Tom Dundon\u2019s shoes, and I\u2019m trying to do that calculus, then I\u2019m going to be evaluating the cost of moving the team versus the cost of coming to the table and making these councilors happy. Right now, it\u2019s a matter of $120 million. Like, if Dundon came out today and said \u2018I\u2019m gonna pick up the tab on the $120 [million] \u2026 that would probably get us to the finish line tomorrow.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

In the meantime, a fanbase waits and worries, wondering whether the business of basketball will lead to no NBA basketball in Portland in 2031.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PORTLAND, Ore. \u2014 The difference in opinion is widening between the Trail Blazers and the city of Portland as the NBA team\u2019s new ownership looks for public funding to renovate the arena where it plays its games. \u201cI think we are very far apart,\u2019\u2019 said a team source Sunday, one of two within the Blazers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2051737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2051737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051737\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2051737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2051737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2051737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}