Moda Center Redevelopment and Preservation Agreement Trail Blazers in Portland for the foreseeable future appears to be in jeopardy, according to Shane Dixon Kavanagh and Bill Oram of The Oregonian.
City leaders and team officials appear almost certain to miss next month’s deadline to secure state funding for the $600 million project. Multiple sources tell the authors that Blazers officials have yet to provide an official response to a urgent notice that the Portland City Council approved this summer.
The team also did not respond to a request for an explanation of the project’s community benefits or expected labor agreements, according to Cavanaugh and Oram. Architectural renderings and a budget for renovations have also not been released, despite requests from the state, city and Multnomah County.
Without those components, city lawmakers won’t agree to a deal before the state’s December deadline to unlock its $365 million contribution to the project, the authors’ sources say. The city is also pledging $120 million, along with $88 million from the county.
“That schedule is just not going to happen at this point. There hasn’t been much progress.” said Council President Jamie Dunphy, echoing the view of four other people directly familiar with the negotiations. “We didn’t get into any serious topics about what we’re buying for $600 million.”
Missing the December deadline would be a significant setback, but it would not necessarily doom the project, Kavanagh and Oram add. The Blazers’ lease at the Moda Center expires in 2030, so there will be time to work out a new deal. However, it is not known whether the state will still want to make such a serious contribution, or whether reconstruction is possible without this money.
Multnomah County Commissioner and Chair-Elect Shannon Singleton told The Oregonian that the county stopped holding weekly meetings on the project in October and there have been no recent updates.
“I don’t feel much hope at this time” She spoke about the prospects of reaching a final agreement within the specified period.
The Trail Blazers continue to hold regular meetings with City teams to negotiate, but sources tell Kavanagh and Oram that they have not made significant progress toward an agreement. They remain at odds over a provision that requires the team to keep the Moda Center in “prime condition.”
According to these sources, the controlling owner Tom Dundon is also refusing to extend the lease for 20 years, which state lawmakers have specified as a requirement for their financial contribution to the project.
The Blazers issued a statement Thursday expressing their desire to resolve the issue, but the writers note that it did not offer any solutions on how a deal could be reached before the December deadline.
“The Trail Blazers are vital to Portland’s identity, and ensuring long-term success for the team and the city’s arena is critical to our state.” This was announced by the press secretary of the team, Charles Boyle. “We remain fully committed to working with our government partners to complete the agreement. We have been working on this goal for many years, and we are doing everything possible to achieve it.”
Since negotiations began, Portland officials have stressed that an agreement must be reached by the end of November so that the City Council can vote on a final proposal before adjourning in mid-December. Oregon officials also expect to have a final lease agreement ready by next month so they can begin selling bonds to finance the state’s contribution.
“Selling bonds is an expensive and time-consuming process” Betsy Imholt, director of the state’s Department of Administrative Services, wrote in a letter to the Portland City Council in July. “This is a process that DAS will not initiate until we are satisfied that all … conditions have been met.”
