Portland Trail Blazers to ask Oregon lawmakers for help funding Moda Center renovations

Lawmakers will return to Salem in February for a short legislative session, and the Blazers plan to seek legislative help to help fund Moda Center renovations.

PORTLAND, Oregon — The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to ask the Oregon Legislature to help fund renovations to the aging Moda Center when lawmakers return to Salem next month.

The request was first reported by The Oregonian. According to that report, the Blazers are considering a roughly $600 million renovation of their longtime arena in Portland’s Rose Quarter and want the state to play a role in financing the project.

The proposal would closely mirror legislation approved by lawmakers in 2025 for the Portland Diamond Project, which sought to use redirected state tax revenue to help fund a potential Major League Baseball stadium in Portland. Under the Blazers’ plan, state income taxes already paid by players, team employees and visiting players would be redirected to arena improvements rather than deposited into the state’s general fund.

Chad Doing, host of Rip City Drive, said upgrades to the Moda Center are critical as the franchise prepares for a change in ownership.

“It’s important for the Blazers to get the improvements that are necessary to continue to keep up, especially with a new owner coming into town,” Doing said.

The Blazers have pushed for state and local partnerships in recent years to help pay for Moda Center upgrades. The franchise is currently in the process of being sold by the estate of the late Paul Allen to a group led by Texas businessman Tom Dundon.

In a statement, Dewayne Hankins, the team’s president of business operations, said discussions with lawmakers are ongoing.

“The 2026 legislative session is an opportunity to move from conversation to action,” Hankins said in a statement provided to KGW.

Doing said he expects elected officials to ultimately support the team’s request.

“I think, in the end, the local politicians here in the city and in the state will do what is necessary to put this team in a position where they can be here long term,” he said.