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Blazers Seek $120 M City Funding, 20-Year Lease

7/30/2026

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Summary

Story summary

The Trail Blazers will attend a Portland City Council work session Thursday morning to discuss Moda Center renovation funding.
The city would spend about $120 million of taxpayer money on the project.
The draft term sheet includes a $3 million annual payment and a 20-year lease for the Blazers.
Spokesperson Charles Boyle said the team wants the city to drop a litigation threat over the lease’s first-class maintenance clause.

History

Historical Context

Facing a deep fiscal slump in the early 1990s, Washington, D.C. approved a public-financing package in 1995 that enabled construction of the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) to revive the Chinatown-Gallery Place district. The District later issued $73.65 million in tax-increment bonds in 2002, a model Portland’s Trail Blazers cite while seeking a comparable 20-year lease for a $120 million arena renovation.

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Story summary

The Trail Blazers will attend a Portland City Council work session Thursday morning to discuss Moda Center renovation funding.
The city would spend about $120 million of taxpayer money on the project.
The draft term sheet includes a $3 million annual payment and a 20-year lease for the Blazers.
Spokesperson Charles Boyle said the team wants the city to drop a litigation threat over the lease’s first-class maintenance clause.

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