If Portland offered the Trail Blazers a blank check to stay, how much would be enough?

Next month, when a major deal-cutting deadline hits, the Portland City Council will be faced with that and other hard questions about the future of the Moda Center and its major tenant and financial core, the Trail Blazers. The city is in a tough spot because their negotiating partner has more leverage than they do. Portland may not be prepared for what comes next.

The Blazers, founded in 1970 by Harry Glickman, passed to other owners including Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. After Allen died, his estate in August 2025 sold the team to Dallas businessman Thomas Dundon. The National Basketball Association Board of Governors approved that sale in March.

When Dundon bought the team, he was not constrained by any requirement that it stay in Portland; major league team purchases occasionally prompt moves to other places. Eager to keep the Blazers, Oregon officials quickly said when the Blazers went up for sale they would work with the new owner. 

The Rose Garden — uh, Moda Center — opened in October 1995 with an audience capacity of around 20,000, depending on the type of event. It has been home to an endless list of sporting, musical and other entertainment activities, and even memorable political events, such as one of the biggest rallies held by then-presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and a speech by then-President Bill Clinton.

But from the beginning and as planned, the major tenant and financial cornerstone has been the Blazers. Even so the center has had financial stress over the years. The Oregon Arena Corporation, its one-time operator, filed for bankruptcy in 2004. There  have been ownership transitions (and conflicts with the Blazers) since. The last sale was in August 2024 when the Portland City Council agreed to buy it for $7.1 million. (Wonder if anyone at City Hall has second thoughts about that now …)

If that sounds like a fire sale price (construction cost was more than a half-billion of today’s dollars), there were reasons, one being the need for upgrades and renovation. The Moda is said to be the NBA facility which has gone longest without a major renovation. 

But how much should be spent, and by who? 

The stakes are state-level as well as local. In April, Gov. Tina Kotek signed Senate Bill 1501 setting up a “pathway” toward joint Portland city-Oregon state ownership of the center, along with other provisions.

A group of Portland-area businesses and organizers called We Are Rip City unveiled its website on July 16, saying, “The State of Oregon is offering $365 million to help modernize the Moda Center. Portland and Multnomah County can pay for the rest with existing funds – no new taxes, no tax increases.” It said that $670 million in economic impact — much of that directly tied to the Blazers — is at risk.

The day before, mayors from 24 Portland-area cities sent a letter to Portland City Hall pleading with the city to make a deal. 

Portland officials do not seem resistant to that. About the same time as all that pro-deal flurry, the Portland City Council released a term sheet describing elements of what a deal with Blazer owner Dundon might look like (as an opening bid). The city called it “reasonable, fair, and focused on keeping the Trail Blazers in Portland, ensuring the long‑term viability of the city‑owned arena, and delivering meaningful community benefits.”

The Blazers camp has used other language. A string of news reports on their perspective includes phrases like “non-starter” and “very far apart.” So far, there’s nothing resembling a note of optimism.

Of course, negotiations often look difficult on the front end.

But Blazers owner Dundon has little incentive to compromise, or maybe even to work with Portland at all.

He lives in Dallas, and his interests mostly focus on the southeast quadrant of the country. (His other major sports team is the Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League.) He has a record of negotiating tough, and has famously gotten the nickname “el cheapo” for cost cutting that has yielded some grumbling within the Blazer environment.

He may not feel inclined to do favors for Oregon. The news site ProPublica reported in October 2025 that “Dundon created a company Oregon accused in 2020 of preying on residents through high-interest car loans they couldn’t afford. The state’s then-attorney general said that the business practices of Santander Consumer USA were ‘predatory and harmful and will not be tolerated in Oregon’ as she announced Oregon’s piece of a $550 million multistate lawsuit settlement with the company. In addition, Oregon is part of an ongoing multistate investigation into another national subprime lender for which Dundon has served in a leadership role, Exeter Finance.”

The city of Portland, simply, holds precious few high cards. There’s no significant barrier to Dundon doing what he chooses.

For Portland, it may have to come to a serious decision, in the next couple of weeks, of just how much it is willing to pay to keep the Blazers. And there’s no guarantee any rational amount will be enough. 

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