A significant step toward a settlement: The Blazers are expected to remain in Portland
After months of uncertainty surrounding the club's future, significant progress has been made in negotiations to renovate the Moda Center and keep Deni Avdija's team in the city.
Good news for Portland and Deni Avdija. Multnomah County approved overnight (between Friday and Saturday) a framework that will allow participation in financing the renovation of the Moda Center in the amount of up to 101.6 million dollars, another step on the way to the massive project estimated at approximately 600 million dollars.
The decision was made by a majority of 4 to 1, but it does not mean that the money has already been transferred. It is a principled approval of the financing framework that will serve as a basis for negotiations between the county, the City of Portland, and the Blazers, while the sources of the funding themselves have not yet been finalized.
As part of the decision, it was determined that the funding is expected to come mainly from taxes on vehicle rentals and additional tourism taxes. However, it is still unclear how the full amount will be raised, and one of the county council members even cast doubt on the ability to actually fund the commitment.
The State of Oregon has already previously approved the issuance of bonds in the amount of up to 365 million dollars for the benefit of renovating the arena, while the City of Portland is examining additional participation of up to 120 million dollars. If all components of the funding are approved, a project for extensive upgrading of the 31-year-old arena can get underway, which is expected to also include maintenance work in the amount of hundreds of millions of additional dollars over the next two decades.
The owner of the Blazers, Tom Dundon, has previously made it clear that he does not intend to finance the public part of the project, and therefore the local authorities continue to look for budgetary solutions.
In addition, there is also a time limit: in order to realize the state funding, the parties must reach a long-term agreement on the continued use of the arena by the Blazers by the end of 2026. The current lease contract of the team, in which Avdija plays, expires in 2030.
Although the road to completing the deal is still long, in Portland they see the latest decision as another significant step toward upgrading the home of the Blazers in the coming years and, as a result, remaining in Oregon.
