Protesters demand private ownership shoulder more of the massive price tag as city officials weigh a high-stakes deal to secure the franchise’s future amid competing public priorities.
The Portland Trail Blazers keep checking boxes on a proposed Moda Center renovation. A contractor has been selected, hundreds of millions in public funding has been lined up and Portland City Council already approved a non-binding term sheet.
And people are still arguing over who should pay for the thing.
Dozens gathered outside the Moda Center on Saturday to protest the use of public money for the proposed renovation, tying the arena debate to concerns over Portland schools, city workers and other public services.
The rally was organized by Sunrise PDX, the Portland Association of Teachers, City of Portland Professional Workers, Portland DSA and other groups.
Organizers called for a larger private contribution toward the renovation — which is where this gets a little more complicated than simply saying Portland is handing money to Blazers owner Tom Dundon.
The Moda Center is city-owned, and Portland has said the public funding would go toward arena renovations.
Tenant-specific improvements would need to be privately financed.
Still … the numbers are massive.
The current framework includes $365 million from the state, a proposed $88 million contribution from Multnomah County and up to $120 million from Portland for the initial renovation.
That is also exactly why this fight was probably never going away.
Portland City Council approved the non-binding term sheet in August by an 8-4 vote.
Several councilors who opposed it pushed for stronger protections around the city’s investment, while Saturday’s protesters argued ownership should put more private money into the project.
The interesting part is that they are not arguing the Blazers should leave. Organizers said they want the franchise to stay in Portland — they just do not think keeping it should require this much public money.
That makes the timeline matter.
The Blazers’ current lease runs through 2030, but Oregon’s $365 million commitment comes with a much earlier clock.
The funding is contingent on a new lease of at least 20 years and binding local commitments, with formal agreements expected back before Portland City Council by Dec. 31.
So, yes, Portland technically has time before the current lease expires. This particular deal … not so much.
Meanwhile, the renovation itself keeps moving forward. The Blazers recently selected PCL Construction as the contractor for the proposed project, another major step toward making it real.
That part was straightforward enough. Finding a builder was never going to be the hardest part of a roughly $600 million arena renovation — getting everyone to agree on who writes the checks was.
Saturday did not derail the project, and a crowd of dozens should not be framed like it did.
But it did show that even with a contractor picked, public money committed and a term sheet already approved, the biggest argument surrounding the Moda Center renovation is still sitting there.
Who pays?
Portland and the Blazers have about three months to answer it.
