With $586 million in public funding now on the table, Portland officials have delivered their demands, forcing the franchise to weigh expensive concessions against a long-term future.
For months, the biggest question surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers' Moda Center future was pretty simple.
How much is everyone actually willing to spend?
We're starting to get an answer.
And after Portland City Council's 8-4 vote Wednesday, the more interesting question may be what the Blazers are willing to agree to in return.
The city approved its opening term sheet for negotiations over a new long-term Moda Center lease, committing $120 million toward renovations while outlining several demands it wants included in an eventual agreement.
That's important.
But the individual numbers aren't really what interests me anymore.
It's what they collectively represent.
Oregon lawmakers have committed $365 million in state bonds toward the project, contingent upon local participation. Multnomah County approved a $101 million package last week, and Portland has now committed another $120 million upfront in its negotiating framework.
There's still an important question hanging over that final number.
Portland hasn't actually determined how it would pay its $120 million share, with several potential funding sources still being discussed.
But after months spent wondering whether the necessary public support would materialize, the framework surrounding it is considerably clearer.
Which shifts some of the pressure across the negotiating table.
Portland isn't proposing hundreds of millions of dollars in public support without asking for anything in return.
The city's opening position includes $3.2 million in annual rent, a $3 million yearly fee intended to recoup property taxes the Blazers don't pay on the publicly owned arena and several other provisions. The term sheet also seeks a commitment from the Blazers to remain in Portland throughout the proposed 20-year lease.
Those terms can change.
In fact, some probably will.
City Council President Jamie Dunphy explicitly described Wednesday's term sheet as the city's "opening proposal," while lead negotiator Carl Hirsch said he expects plenty of "push and pull" once negotiations begin.
That's why arguing over whether $3.2 million is the correct rent figure feels a little premature.
The bigger development is that Portland finally has something tangible to negotiate with.
And the Blazers now have to determine which terms they're willing to accept.
There is reason to believe both sides ultimately want the same thing.
Blazers President of Business Operations Dewayne Hankins said following Wednesday's vote that the organization's goal remains reaching an agreement that creates a path for the franchise to stay in Portland "for decades to come."
Portland obviously wants the Blazers to stay, too.
The disagreement is over what the eventual arrangement should look like.
That's what the next several months are really about.
Wednesday didn't guarantee a renovated Moda Center. It didn't lock the Blazers into Portland for another 20 years, either.
It did move this entire saga considerably closer to an actual negotiation.
The public funding framework is increasingly taking shape.
Portland has established what it wants in return.
Now the Blazers have to decide which parts of that price they're willing to pay.
