You can’t be anywhere near the vicinity of the Portland Trail Blazers lately without encountering speculation about whether the team will move out of Portland in the near future, casualties of divisive debates over public funding of the Moda Center arena. Despite the near-constant tension, local media member Sean Highkin remains relatively unworried. The writer explained why in the latest edition of his Rose Garden Report [subscription required].
The column is an extensive read. Highkin runs down
all the usual narratives about new owner Tom Dundon, the lack of space to move an NBA team right now, and the historical weight of Portland fandom. He also points out obvious comparisons to the Seattle SuperSonics, a Pacific Northwest neighbor to the Blazers, moved to Oklahoma City by a devil-may-care owner back when Fresh Prince was still pitching the Willennium.
Highkin dismisses the easy correlation between Portland and Seattle, claiming that governmental and budget decisions will go differently this time. He expects both the city and Multnomah County to approve funding for renovations, putting Dundon and the NBA in an unescapable position.
Owners look out for themselves and their interests, just like every other group, especially when there’s this level of money involved. And letting Dundon walk away from a deal that’s better than the ones most of them got in their cities would have far-reaching consequences for all of them.
If an NBA team is given $573 million in fully-approved public funds for an updated arena without a requirement of any private contribution, and then is allowed to bail anyway, why would any city in America ever agree to give a sports team money for a stadium again? That playbook only works for owners because there’s an understanding that if the city does pony up, they get to keep their team, and that’s usually enough to scare local politicians into falling in line. If the carrot at the end of the stick goes away, the whole system falls apart. None of the major sports leagues or their owners want that outcome.
Highkin also leans on the personal goals an ethics of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. He believes that Silver will lean towards the Blazers remaining in Portland for several reasons:
I also believe that Silver, for all his flaws and missteps in his 12 years as commissioner, genuinely doesn’t want a team with the Blazers’ history and fanbase to move under his watch…
…Whatever city Dundon moves the Blazers to isn’t going to have close to that level of fan support built in, and Silver knows it…
…Silver cares about the NBA making money above all else, but he cares about his reputation almost as much. And letting someone like Dundon pull that kind of bait-and-switch for a franchise with a 56-year history would be tough to come back from.
Highkin is correct that any proposed move would need to be ratified by Dundon’s fellow owners and the league. It’s another angle on the complex, fraught negotiations over the Blazers’ tenure. The story is worth a read.
