Conventional wisdom says that the Portland Trail Blazers, up for sale for the first time in 37 years, won’t be moved out of Portland. While the eventual buyer will almost certainly be from out-of-state, the expectation is that the NBA knows from past experience the perils of uprooting a beloved team.
Oregonians, however, should also know better than to count on conventional wisdom.
The NBA may certainly be loath to greenlight a team’s move after the rancorous 2008 relocation of the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City. But any clear-eyed assessment of Portland must consider how the city – with its small media market, limited corporate sponsorship scene and aging arena – looks downright frumpy to an ownership group paying billions for a team. Fans’ blessing of Trail Blazer Damian Lillard’s move to Milwaukee to chase a championship speaks to Portland’s unselfish loyalty, but the lack of development around the Rose Quarter tells the story of missed opportunity and low priorities.
State and local leaders should not take on faith that the team is here to stay. The Trail Blazers have only a flimsy five-year agreement in place to continue playing at the 30-year-old Moda Center. In a region struggling with increased layoffs, falling property values, minuscule population growth and lingering reputational damage, losing this cornerstone of our civic pride would be devastating.
While both Mayor Keith Wilson and Gov. Tina Kotek have pledged their commitment to working with a new owner, neither the city nor state are showing the initiative the moment requires. Elected officials, community advocates and business leaders need to start shaping a strategy now for what public funding possibilities exist for helping finance construction of a new or renovated arena. They should also strategize a broader development plan that boosts the team and the city alike.
The impending sale is an opportunity for leaders to show the NBA and potential buyers that Portland is the only choice – not out of guilt or nostalgia, but because there is no better partner for a team on the rise than a city making a comeback.
To take stock of where we are, elected officials and the public should recognize how lucky we’ve been. Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen, who lived near Seattle, bought the Trail Blazers in 1988 and enthusiastically immersed himself in every aspect of the team. He backed that up with his wealth. He underwrote expensive rosters and financed construction in 1993 of the Rose Garden Arena (now the Moda Center) without public funding – a rare move for a major league team owner. Frequently spotted sitting courtside, he was legendarily passionate about the game and his team. And while the team and arena have had their ups and downs, he understood the identity of the franchise as a Portland institution.
Allen’s death in 2018, however, set the clock running on an ownership change, albeit a slow clock. Allen had long ago directed the team to be sold following his death, with proceeds to go to his foundation. But his estate, run by his sister, Jody Allen, continued to manage the team, much to the chagrin of a frustrated fan base. Against a backdrop of puzzling personnel decisions and disengaged management, the team has not made the playoffs since the 2020-2021 season. Its struggles help explain why so many fans respected Lillard’s request for a trade.
There’s no telling how deeply vested in Portland or Oregon the team’s next owner will be. Oregon’s rolodex of known billionaires contains only three names, and just one of them, Nike co-founder Phil Knight, can comfortably cover the team’s estimated $3.65 billion valuation. Knight already made his pitch to buy the team three years ago with a business partner. But Jody Allen declined, and Knight recently said he’s no longer interested.
Oregonians shouldn’t expect history to repeat itself with a new owner willing to shoulder the cost of a new or renovated arena. In fact, although Paul Allen footed the Rose Garden’s $262 million bill, he later regretted his financing arrangement and put the arena in bankruptcy in 2004 to force a revision of his repayment terms. Allen even gave up ownership of the building for a short time before buying it back. It now belongs to the city of Portland.
With Moda Center as the oldest NBA arena that has not undergone a significant renovation, it is almost certain that some public funding for construction or renovation will be a future requirement. Legislators just passed a “jock tax” that would divert the income tax of future players of a hypothetical Major League Baseball team to support stadium construction bonds. They may need to repurpose that legislation for the Trail Blazers, as controversial as it may be considering those players’ taxes already feed the state’s general fund. There may well be other revenue streams necessary for construction.
State and local authorities should also convene discussions with Rose Quarter, Albina Vision Trust, 1803 Fund and transportation officials to evaluate next steps in developing the area and advancing plans to restore the historically Black district that had been devastated by highway construction and other development. Despite Rose Quarter officials’ best efforts, the restaurant scene and related development never materialized to make the area a thriving sports and entertainment district. Now, the recent loss of federal funding for Interstate 5 improvements in the Rose Quarter deals a huge blow to that endlessly troubled project. The time may be ripe for a new strategy.
And Oregonians should continue to show their support for Trail Blazers with their attendance at games. They have stuck with the team through thick and thin, from the team’s sole 1977 championship win to the epic collapses or regrettable draft picks that will stick in the craws of fans forever. But these are the shared memories of a city lucky enough to have a basketball culture.
Certainly, there are some tough conversations ahead. Oregonians can rightly debate the true economic impact of an NBA team and the jobs it supports. Public financing of an arena will likely be a tough sell in Portland where “public-private partnership” is considered code for “corporate welfare.” And despite the urgent need to keep the team in town, neither the city nor the state should sell off its future in a bad deal. They must find the right balance.
This city and state love their team and its Portland identity. Our leaders must do all they can to ensure the team’s new owners feel the same.
-The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board
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