I saw Bill Oram’s cri de coeur for Moda Center renovation, (“I hope I’m wrong, but this is why I fear the Trail Blazers could be as good as gone | Bill Oram,” Feb. 9). It was shortly followed by the news that state Sen. Rob Wagner is proposing that the state help foot the bill, (“Moda Center funding bill introduced in Salem with few specifics, broad support from top Democrats,” Feb. 11).
To be abundantly clear, it is obscene to propose spending more than twice the TriMet budget shortfall on a basketball arena. If moving the Blazers would “set Portland’s economy back by a generation,” an opinion Oram attributes to economists, I would need to see hard data to this end, and not histrionic pearl clutching about the spirit of the city.
According to Smart Growth America, every dollar invested in public transit generates four dollars in return. By that metric, $300 million in funding for TriMet would generate $1.2 billion dollars in return.
Portland is a city full of people who deserve reliable transit, and who depend on reliable transit. I cannot countenance spending civic funds on a basketball team while services Portlanders depend on, including transit, are in fiscal freefall.
Tom Dundon’s net worth is reported at around $1.5 billion. The city I live in is not his playground, and the state’s coffers are not his purse. I would appreciate if the paper of record would show some dignity before Croesus.
Moira Hicks, Portland