Oregon lawmakers fretting over the Trail Blazers’ future in Portland have slapped a price tag on their effort to ensure the team stays put: $365 million.
That’s the pile of cash the Legislature is signaling it could borrow in coming years to pay for major renovations to the Moda Center, the 30-year-old Portland arena that some have deemed unfit for a modern NBA team.
Lawmakers took a first step in approving the spending on Thursday, as Senate Bill 1501, a bill laying out the structure of a possible funding deal, cleared its first committee. The Senate Rules Committee approved the bill in a 4-1 vote.
The bill lays the groundwork for the state to set aside income taxes already paid by the Trail Blazers, other employers in Portland’s Rose Quarter, and any construction firms doing work on Moda Center renovations. That money, along with taxes on performers who play the Moda, would be placed in a special fund.
If the bill passes, the state would begin issuing bonds next year, in time for work on the Moda to begin in the summer of 2027. The goal is to be finished by 2030, when Portland is hosting the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
“We didn’t just pick a number out of thin air,” Barry Pack, chief of staff for Senate President Rob Wagner, told lawmakers earlier this week. “This is based on what we believe will be coming in out of the economic activity at the Rose Quarter.”
But the version of SB 1501 that passed out of committee contains provisions that need to be met in order for the state to take on this new debt.
First, the Trail Blazers need to change hands to a new owner as planned. Texas billionaire Tom Dundon is expected to close a deal to purchase the team next month. SB 1501 requires the Blazers to sign a 20-year lease to play in the Moda Center in order for public financing to move forward.
Funding is also dependent on the state entering into an agreement with the City of Portland, which owns the Moda Center, to establish shared authority over the facility. The City of Portland and Multnomah County need to make their own financial commitments to chip in for renovations.
Earlier this month top officials from each of those governments pledged major contributions to a Moda Center revamp. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson promised the city would pay $120 million up front, with additional yearly payments. Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said she would find $88 million.
All told, the pledged money eclipses the $600 million cost of renovations suggested by the Trail Blazers.
Neither the Portland City Council nor the Multnomah County Commission have voted to approve those payments.
SB 1501 requires assurances that the state will have legal recourse if the Blazers break their lease, and an agreement the state is not on the hook for cost overruns to renovations that it is not directly responsible for. To date, that is the only suggestion that Dundon and the Blazers could be on the hook for any piece of the arena work, which the team has said will cost $600 million. It’s not clear where that figure comes from.
The Trail Blazers have been a consistent presence in the Capitol during this year’s session, marshalling a small army of lobbyists and bringing in cheerleaders and at least one legendary former player — Terry Porter — as they press the Legislature to approve the cash.
Dewayne Hankins, president of business operations for the Blazers, told the Senate Rules Committee this week that the bill “strikes the right balance, allowing the renovation project to move forward while ensuring strong accountability.”
“Today represents an important first step toward a bright future for the Moda Center,” Hankins said. Dundon, the billionaire buyer of the Blazers, has not publicly signaled his plans for the team or his desires for the arena.
Not everyone believes the state is getting a fair deal.
This month, Edan Krolewicz, a Trail Blazers fan who lives in New York, launched a campaign aimed at pressuring lawmakers to demand more. His effort, “Rip City, Not Rip Off,” casts suggestions that Dundon might move the team as a bluff. Krolewicz and supporters of his cause insist the state should demand a slice of the Blazers’ revenue in exchange for the public spending.
“This is the worst deal that has ever been done in NBA history,” he testified before lawmakers this week. “We are letting them get away with it, without even asking for protections.”
It’s true the Blazers aren’t the only team looking for a spiffed up home court.
As they work toward a new arena, the San Antonio Spurs are leaning on roughly $800 million in public funding. But the team is planning to spend at least $500 million of its own money, and to cover all cost overruns.
In Oklahoma City, the Thunder have convinced taxpayers to cover nearly all of the roughly $1 billion cost of a new arena, spending just $50 million from the organization.
Plenty of economists would take issue with those payments. Most research on public subsidies for sports venues concludes that the investments don’t result in the economic benefits that are touted to citizens. But the change of ownership in Portland complicates matters.
Elected officials, including Gov. Tina Kotek, are plainly worried Dundon will pull up stakes if the Moda Center isn’t brought up to snuff. Wagner, the powerful Senate president, said it was “simply not true” that the Blazers’ are guaranteed to remain in Portland.
“There are communities right now that would love an NBA franchise,” he said. “Seattle would love to have one back. You have folks like Vegas and Nashville that are sitting out there waiting for the opportunity to have an owner that is interested in shopping this team.”
Many of the state’s most powerful elected officials are supporting SB 1501, suggesting it is on a glide path to passage.
That’s not just Democrats. On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, was among the lawmakers who supported the bill in committee. Starr took that vote, he said, even though he’s still not sure SB 1501 is ready.
“I’m not going to commit support running through this process,” he said, without elaborating on his concerns. “There are additional conversations that need to be had.”
The bill now goes to the legislature’s Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for scrutinizing spending bills.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
