Trail Blazers’ Moda Center talks face a December deadline as Oregon’s $365 million contribution is put at risk

Historical photo: the arena, then called the Rose Garden, in May 2008. Photo: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives.

Portland’s proposed Moda Center renovation is running out of time to secure its public financing. City leaders and the Trail Blazers are almost certain to miss a December deadline for a final deal, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Bill Oram of The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Friday, putting the state’s $365 million contribution at risk.

The deadline has not passed, and the report does not mean the Blazers have decided to leave Portland. Their existing arena lease runs through 2030. The immediate question is whether a roughly $600 million renovation can proceed with the public money now on offer.

The council still needs a complete proposal

According to The Oregonian, the team has not formally answered the city’s term sheet or supplied requested architectural renderings and a renovation budget. Community-benefit and labor agreements also remain unfinished. Those missing pieces leave the City Council little time to review a final package before its December recess.

Council President Jamie Dunphy told the newspaper there had not been meaningful progress. Multnomah County Chair-elect Shannon Singleton said the county had stopped holding its scheduled weekly meetings on the project in October and that she was not hopeful about a deal within the remaining weeks.

The two sides are still negotiating. The newspaper reported that responsibility for keeping the building in first-class condition remains disputed, and that controlling owner Tom Dundon continues to resist the firm 20-year lease required for the state’s funding.

A funding deadline, not the end of the existing lease

The state has pledged $365 million, Portland $120 million and Multnomah County $88 million, the newspaper reported. Oregon needs an agreement in time to prepare its bond sale. The current legislative authorization runs through June 2027, and replacing it would require lawmakers to act again. A missed December target would therefore put the financing at risk rather than automatically end the renovation effort.

In a statement Thursday, the Blazers said they remain committed to reaching an agreement with their public partners. The city also said it remains at the negotiating table, while Gov. Tina Kotek’s office said it is still pressing for a deal by December.

The new report follows Sen. Ron Wyden’s appeal to NBA Board of Governors chair Micky Arison to help move the talks forward. For now, the arena’s future financing remains unresolved. The team’s lease through 2030 is a separate clock.