Trail Blazers Set to Ask State of Oregon for Funding for Major Moda Center Renovations: What it Means

This summer, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said publicly that the Trail Blazers likely need a new arena.

Two months later, speaking at Blazers media day, president of business operations Dewayne Hankins disagreed with that assessment, saying the 30-year-old Moda Center has "good bones" and a major renovation would be good enough to secure the Blazers' long-term future in Portland.

Now, with incoming owner Tom Dundon set to officially take over control of the team from the Paul G. Allen Estate later this year, the Blazers appear set to choose the latter option.

As first reported Wednesday morning by The Oregonian, the Blazers are planning to bring a proposal to the Oregon state legislature that would redirect money from income taxes collected on Blazers players and staff, as well as those from visiting NBA teams, from the state's general fund to a $600 million multi-year overhaul of the Moda Center. The proposal will go before state lawmakers at some point during next month's 35-day budget session that runs from Feb. 2 to March 9.

"For more than 50 years, the Trail Blazers have been a central part of Oregon's economy and identity," Hankins said in a statement on Wednesday. "But Moda Center is bigger than basketball—it's Oregon's busiest entertainment venue and one of the state's most important gathering places. Since early 2023, we've been in meaningful conversations with the City and our public partners about a long-term, market-rate lease extension for the Blazers that includes an investment to extend the useful life of Moda Center. This 2026 legislative session is an opportunity to move from conversation to action, and I'm encouraged to be working alongside leaders who see this as an investment in our economic prosperity, culture, and a gathering place that brings people together from all across Oregon."

Since the Allen estate announced in May that they were putting the Blazers up for sale, there has been much talk and speculation about what a new owner would mean for the future of the arena, and whether the Blazers would be in danger of potentially relocating.

When the group led by Dundon, who also owns the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, reached an agreement with the estate in August to buy the Blazers for $4.25 billion, they signaled that their plan was to keep the team in Portland for the long haul. The Allen estate confirmed this a month later when they announced the formal, legally binding agreement with Dundon's group, which also includes investments from the Cherng family (founders of Panda Express), Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Global Collective CEO Sheel Tyle.

While we wait for the state legislature to hear the Blazers' proposal, and for the NBA's board of governors to officially approve Dundon's purchase of the team, here are the five most important questions about the proposal and the future of the Blazers in Portland.

How much public money are the Blazers asking for?