Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian reports that new scoreboards at Moda Center will be installed in time for the 2025-26 season. However, other major improvements to the 29-year-old facility will probably have to wait. The Portland Trail Blazers announced on May 13th that the franchise would be sold, so it will be up to the future new owners to decide on other renovations or possibly a new stadium.
New scoreboards were announced in February, so the report from Fentress confirms that the upgrade will indeed take place this summer. The scoreboard above center court will be 24’ by 50’, 56% larger than the old scoreboard. A new addition will be underbelly displays that will provide a better and more convenient view of screen for fans sitting courtside or in lowest seats in the lower bowl. The iconic HustleBoard, Stats Central and player stats boards on each end will also be replaced with modern LED screens.
Moda Center is now tied for seventh-oldest stadium in the NBA. The original lease ends in October, but the team and the city signed a five year extension in February, with a team option of an additional five years. This locks the team to Moda Center through the 2029-30 season, and the team could extend that to 2034-2035. Even when the new lease expires it’s not a guarantee that a new stadium is a certainty. Moda Center is 785,000 square feet, putting it in the top half of NBA stadiums in terms of size. If the basic bones of the stadium building are solid, major renovations could conceivably upgrade the facility to a state-of-the-art standard in terms of seating, luxury boxes, and revenue-generating amenities, all while staying within the current building shell.
The new scoreboards will be ready for the start of the 2025-26 season.