From high-stakes funding battles to political tug-of-wars, both franchises face billion-dollar roadblocks as they navigate the volatile landscape of public financing and long-term arena commitments.
The Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs don't have all that much in common right now.
One plays in the Western Conference.
The other ... also plays in the Western Conference.
Okay, maybe we're off to a rough start.
But if Portland officials ever wanted someone to commiserate with over the complicated process of spending hundreds of millions of public dollars on an NBA arena, they might want to give San Antonio a call.
Because the Spurs have their own arena headache.
San Antonio City Council voted 6-5 against Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' push to put the city's $489 million contribution toward a proposed new Spurs arena before voters. The proposed arena is estimated to cost $1.3 billion, while Bexar County voters approved up to $311 million in venue-tax funding for the project in November 2025.
Sound at least a little familiar, Portland?
Well ... kind of.
The situations aren't identical. San Antonio is trying to build a new downtown arena for the Spurs. Portland already has Moda Center — it just needs a pretty significant makeover.
Portland City Council voted 8-4 on Aug. 12 to approve a non-binding term sheet that will serve as the framework for negotiations with the Blazers.
Under that framework, the city proposes contributing $120 million toward the renovation and another $275 million over 20 years in annual payments for eligible projects. The term sheet also contemplates a new 20-year lease designed to keep the Blazers playing at Moda Center.
So ... there are a definitely few dollars involved here.
But get past all of those zeroes, and the comparison becomes a little more interesting.
Jones argued San Antonio voters deserved a direct say on the city's $489 million contribution. Opponents pointed to the Bexar County vote authorizing up to $311 million for the arena and argued another public vote wasn't necessary.
Portland's question is a little different.
It's not just how much the city should contribute. It's what Portland gets back.
The city's term sheet seeks a binding 20-year commitment requiring the Blazers to play their home games at Moda Center. It also includes a $3 million annual property-tax offset payment from Rip City Management that would escalate over time, along with community-benefit provisions and protections against public responsibility for cost overruns.
In other words, Portland isn't writing a very large check and simply hoping everyone remembers to say thank you.
And that's where these two arena sagas start heading in different directions.
San Antonio is trying to figure out how to build a new home for the Spurs.
Portland is trying to figure out how much it should spend fixing up the home the Blazers already have ... and exactly what it should get in return.
Neither has reached the finish line.
San Antonio and the Spurs still have negotiations ahead of them, while Portland's Aug. 12 vote didn't finalize anything with the Blazers. Portland's resolution is explicitly non-binding and directs city officials to negotiate definitive documents before bringing them back to City Council for approval.
So no, San Antonio can't exactly hand Portland the answer key.
It doesn't have one, either.
But if officials in either city ever need someone to complain to about the joys of negotiating an NBA arena deal?
At least they know who to call.
