![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/KFEY2YDDS5ATDOJ2NJYJILYXUA.jpg\")
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The Moda Center on Oct. 22, 2025, in Portland, Ore.<\/p>\n
Saskia Hatvany \/ OPB<\/p>\n
Lease negotiations between Portland and its beloved NBA team are off to a rocky start. <\/p>\n
Both city officials and representatives for the Trail Blazers have issues with the city\u2019s initial draft of a term sheet \u2013 a document outlining the starting terms of the Moda Center renovation deal that will be hashed out over the next several months. City leaders will hold a closed-door meeting Wednesday to discuss the deal further.<\/p>\n
The attempt to extend this public-private partnership, which the Blazers say should rely solely on $600 million in public dollars, is expected to only grow thornier. <\/p>\n
But Portland\u2019s elected officials won\u2019t be leading the talks.<\/p>\n
With deadlines fast approaching, the city has tapped three contractors with experience in major arena deals to represent their interests at the negotiating table.<\/p>\n
Portland City Council is expected to vote on a final term sheet \u2013 officially kicking off negotiations on Aug. 12. The city hopes to ink a final deal with the Blazers by the end of the year. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you need to know about the contractors the city tapped to lead these talks. <\/p>\n
Carl Hirsh<\/p>\n
Carl Hirsh is a managing partner at Stafford Sports, a New Jersey-based consulting firm that specializes in sports arena negotiations. <\/p>\n
Most notably, Stafford Sports worked with Seattle on a Hail-Mary attempt<\/a> to keep the Super Sonics from leaving the city in 2008. It\u2019s not clear if Hirsch was involved in those talks.<\/p>\n In 2012, Hirsch was hired by Seattle to help advise on<\/a> a possible new arena project to lure an NBA or NHL franchise. That project never panned out. But he did continue to advise the city<\/a> in getting more than $600 million in private investor financing to renovate what would eventually be renamed Climate Pledge Arena, the home of the NHL\u2019s Seattle Kraken.<\/p>\n Hirsch worked closely with San Antonio\u2019s Bexar County government in the 1990s to secure a new arena for the San Antonio Spurs. The $193 million AT&T Center, which opened in 2002, was funded largely with public money. County voters approved a hotel and rental tax to raise $175 million, with the Spurs making up the remaining costs. <\/p>\n The firm is also involved in San Antonio\u2019s latest project to build a new NBA arena in the city\u2019s downtown. In that 2025 deal, voters approved a plan<\/a> to use nearly $1 billion in city and county dollars on arena construction \u2013 with the Spurs expecting to put in $500 million. <\/p>\n Denis Braham<\/p>\n Denis Braham is an attorney with the Houston firm Greenberg Traurig, specializing in sports law. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig in 2022, Braham held a similar position at business law firm Winstead PC.<\/p>\n Over his career, Braham has overseen a number of sports real estate deals, including representing Charlotte during the construction of a new training and practice arena for the Charlotte Hornets. <\/p>\n The firm was the lead counsel to Erie County, New York, in negotiations over a new $1.5 billion Buffalo Bills arena in 2022. That facility was built with more than $850 million in state and county dollars \u2013 the largest taxpayer contribution<\/a> for an NFL facility. <\/p>\n While at Winstead, Braham worked directly for NFL franchises<\/a>, like the Dallas Cowboys (and their 2001 stadium deal) and the Houston Texans (Winstead was hired by a Texas businessman to help Houston land the Texans as an expansion team in the late 1990s).<\/p>\n Damien Hall<\/p>\n Damien Hall is a real estate and land use attorney for Portland-based firm Dunn Carney LLP. <\/p>\n At Dunn Carney, Hall helped the city negotiate its current short-term lease agreement with the Blazers, which was a 5-year extension of the original 30-year Moda Center lease. <\/p>\n Hall is familiar with tense City Council discussions. <\/p>\n