Discussions are “widening” between the Trail Blazers and the city of Portland on a new Moda Center lease agreement as the team’s new ownership “looks for public funding to renovate the arena,” according to Jason Quick of THE ATHLETIC. A team source said Sunday, “I think we are very far apart.” On Friday, the city of Portland sent the Blazers a term sheet for a 20-year-lease agreement. If the Blazers agree to the terms, the team would receive $600M in public funds to “renovate the Moda Center.” Quick noted of significance, the city is asking the Blazers to pay $3M annually for a property tax offset, which “would escalate over time.” Additionally, the deal would “require the Blazers to hire union workers and set caps on project-cost overruns.” The source added, “The term sheet is a non-starter.” Quick noted the Trail Blazers’ BOD meets Monday and “will address the term sheet to determine a course of action.” The city is “set to vote on the funding Aug. 12” and a deal “must be struck before Dec. 31” for $365M in state funding to be included. The Blazers’ lease ends in 2030, and there is “unspoken tension about whether new owner Tom Dundon would move the team to another city.” Sources, though, said that Dundon has “never mentioned relocating the Trail Blazers” (THE ATHLETIC, 7/19).
TALKS STALLING: Multnomah County leaders last week said in a letter that they “had not had a meaningful opportunity to ensure the county’s proposed” $100M contribution to Moda Center renovations “came with clear community benefits.” In Portland, Shane Kavanaugh noted Portland Mayor Keith Wilson has “proposed tapping” $120M in city funds to support the project. Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Commissioners Julia Brim-Edwards and Meghan Moyer said that interest on the bonds the county would use to back its funding would “bring their total investment closer” to $125M. The “reset” demand comes just as Portland leaders “appeared on track to reach an Aug. 12 vote” (Portland OREGONIAN, 7/17).