Portland Council Considers $400 Million Giveaway to Wealthy Team Owners Amid Public Outcry
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City leaders faced fierce debate over a $400 million plan to renovate the Moda Center, with many residents questioning the wisdom of funneling public money to a private NBA franchise while demanding stronger labor protections and community investment.
Portland City Council spent three hours listening to impassioned public comments on a draft term sheet that would hand up to $400 million in public funds to renovate and maintain the Moda Center, a facility used by the billionaire-owned Trail Blazers. The proposal includes a $120 million upfront payment and up to $275 million more through 2047, all in exchange for a mere 20-year promise from the team to stay in Portland. The city would receive a paltry $3 million annual fee to offset property-tax losses, and the deal would require the team to hire unionized workers and allow staff to unionize—a small victory for labor but hardly enough given the scale of the public giveaway.
Council members said they will consider amendments before the final vote on Aug. 12. Proposed changes include giving the city all parking revenue from non-Blazers events, raising the Rose Quarter ticket surcharge to 7%, adding $2 million in annual charitable contributions, eliminating the $275 million maintenance commitment, aligning arena concession prices with street prices, and increasing the annual fee by 6% each year. While some of these amendments attempt to claw back public benefit, they do little to address the fundamental injustice of subsidizing private profit with public resources.
Public testimony was sharply divided. Some residents, swayed by sports nostalgia, urged the city to do whatever it takes to keep the NBA franchise, while others, more attuned to economic justice, questioned the morality of spending hundreds of millions of scarce public dollars on a private team. One resident rightly described the team’s new owner as a “tyrant,” and a fan group called for a market-rate proposal that includes private investment and revenue sharing, not just handouts. Even a child testified that losing the Blazers would be “a real bummer,” highlighting how corporate interests manipulate community sentiment to justify public subsidies.
Trail Blazers executives have not disclosed what further concessions they want, and council president Jamie Dunphy said the council expects more backroom negotiations before finalizing the agreement. The fight for public accountability and community benefit is far from over.