The Portland Trail Blazers fought their way to the 2026 NBA playoffs, but now, their toughest opponents may be in City Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s majority owner, Tom Dundon, is trying to iron out a deal with the city for a major, state-of-the-art renovation of the Moda Center that could cost more than $600 million. Recently released records and memos show that\u2019s a far more ambitious responsibility than the city had in mind when it agreed to take ownership of the Moda Center in 2024. Will the city splurge on a venue remodel it can\u2019t afford, or flex its negotiating power?<\/p>\n
This (not so) old house<\/p>\n
The Moda Center\u2014initially called the Rose Garden Arena\u2014was privately owned when it was built in 1995 on city-owned land. According to the terms of a lease, the city of Portland was expected to take ownership of the arena after 30 years. In 2024, the city agreed to assume ownership a year early as part of a lease deal that would keep the Trail Blazers playing at the Moda Center until at least 2030, according to city records.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, the team was still owned by the estate of the late Paul Allen, and operated by his sister, Jody Allen.<\/p>\n
The city commissioned a third party to perform a facility condition assessment of the Moda Center, akin to an inspection done on a home before its purchase. The verdict? Despite three decades of games, concerts, rowdy crowds, spilled beer, and blood, sweat, and tears from fans and athletes alike, the venue is in pretty good shape, overall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cModa Center as a 30 year old facility is in good condition for its age,\u201d Venue Solutions Group wrote in its 2024 report to the city. \u201cIt would be difficult to say there are any failing architectural aspects of the facility, as the building has generally been well maintained for the duration of its lifespan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Venue Solutions Group estimated the city could expect to spend about $482 million to keep up with needed repairs, replacements and technology upgrades over the next 20 years, not including replacement of the arena\u2019s decommissioned ice floor, which is no longer used.<\/p>\n
Then came 2025.<\/p>\n
The penny-pinching billionaire<\/p>\n
When news broke that the Trail Blazers were sold to an investment group led by Dundon<\/a>, reactions were mixed. They later soured when it was revealed that Dundon, a notoriously frugal business investor worth an estimated $2.3 billion, wouldn\u2019t spring for special edition fan shirts when the Blazers made it to the Western Conference playoffs in the 2025-26 season for the first time since 2021. The team\u2019s owner had also scaled back heavily on standard travel expenses and hotel costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNever, ever in my entire life have the Portland Trail Blazers ownership group looked like broke [bargain] basement \u2026 nonsense,\u201d Trysta Krick, a podcaster and WNBA and NBA analyst for NBC Sports said in an April 18 Instagram post<\/a>, railing against Dundon for refusing to pony up for accoutrements. \u201cThese guys are billionaires.\u201d<\/p>\n Krick, never one to mince words when it comes to basketball, likened Dundon to a \u201cgovernment cheese\u201d \u201cbroke bitch\u201d whose penny-pinching ownership was unparalleled.\u00a0<\/p>\n Around the same time, the team\u2019s new ownership revealed its stance that the Moda Center needs more than just the standard upkeep and renovations identified in the facility assessment. The Blazers, Dundon argues, should have a state-of-the-art arena if Portland is serious about keeping its NBA team; just don\u2019t ask the team to pay for it.<\/p>\n Despite the Oregon Legislature committing $365 million toward Moda Center upgrades via Senate Bill 1501, Dundon has yet to woo Portland city councilors, whose votes he\u2019ll need if he wants a fully publicly-funded Moda renovation included in the Blazers Moda Center lease. Portland\u2019s elected leaders have promised transparency and due diligence in long-term lease negotiations with Rip City Rising\u2013the Blazers ownership group primarily owned by Dundon. Dundon also owns the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team.<\/p>\n Karl Lisle, the city of Portland\u2019s spectator venues program manager, laid out what the city should expect over the next 20 years under different scenarios.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is critically important to note that the [facility condition assessment] looks only at what investments would be necessary to maintain the building in its current configuration in good working order for 20 years,\u201d Lisle stated in a memo to Portland\u2019s Deputy City Administrator of Community and Economic Development, Donnie Oliveira. \u201cIt does not contemplate the transformative renovation that is being proposed publicly by the Blazers.\u201d<\/p>\n If the Blazers were to leave after 2030, it would present unique challenges for the city to recoup the revenue loss, Lisle noted, but it could also give the city an opportunity to recalibrate its lease terms.<\/p>\n One group that hasn\u2019t been present in the conversation: the Portland Fire. The city\u2019s recently resurrected WNBA team doesn\u2019t have a lease agreement with the city and instead sublets the Moda Center through the Blazers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe City and Trail Blazers intend to ensure that the renovation meets the needs of the WNBA and all other subtenants, including concerts and other events,\u201d Alison Perkins, a public information officer for the city of Portland, told the Mercury.<\/p>\n