NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke briefly about the Trail Blazers’ future in Portland during a press conference Tuesday at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
I spent time with [new Trail Blazers owner] Tom [Dundon] and his parters here in Las Vegas. What we are most focused on right now at the league office is the deal that we discussed when we were in Portland in March. I was hoping more progress would have been made by now on that agreement. It seems to have gone off track in various ways.
I have a colleague…
who’s day-to-day on it. But we’re working with both sides to ensure that the Trail Blazers can have a long-term future in Portland. But there are several open issues that still need to be resolved.
Silver made the statement in response to a question from The Rose Garden Report’s Sean Highkin. Those “open issues” he mentioned, broadly speaking, include the fact that the Blazers and the City of Portland do not appear close to agreeing on terms of a deal to renovate the Moda Center. The funding agreement would secure approximately $120 million of funding from the City, which is required to secure $365 million committed by the State of Oregon and about another $100 million from Multnomah County, adding up to a total of about $600 million in public money.
The Trail Blazers have not verbally committed any private capital as part of the deal. A deal between the two sides is expected to include the Trail Blazers’ commitment to a 20-year lease to remain at the Moda Center.
Neither the City nor the County has made a specific commitment to this funding or has identified sources of that funding. It’s become a point of contention both among councilors on Portland City Council, and between Mayor Keith Wilson and council members.
Wilson and some councilors have publicly supported using Portland Clean Energy Fund money as part of the local contribution. Other councilors have balked at the idea. With a December deadline for the State’s contribution and the overall framework for the deal looming, agreement does not yet appear to be in reach. It is possible, however, that the Oregon Legislature could pass another deal during the 2027 legislative session, but this may make timing tight to complete renovations before the 2030 Women’s Final Four in Portland.
The City of Portland has said it needs more information from the team to make an informed decision; meanwhile, the team has said it can only provide more information once the funding is guaranteed, according to reporting from OPB.
The City is set to vote on a term sheet committing broadly to the $120 million in local funding on Aug. 12.
