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They’re going to ride loops around Moda Center until they’re finished, or until they’re told to leave. So say organizers of the Moda 500, a bike relay and protest happening this Saturday, Sept. 26.
“What we are saying with the Moda 500 is really this: The Blazers are our team. We love the Blazers and we don’t want them to leave. We don’t believe that comes at odds with a city that works for us that has well-funded schools, parks and roads,” says Byron Kimball, an organizer with Sunrise PDX, the youth climate justice group.
The Sept. 26 event will start at noon with a rally, followed by teams of cyclists attempting to ride 250 loops around Moda Center (ambitions originally were for the full 500 laps, but Sunrise PDX pared back the goal over the weekend after further consideration.) Riders are encouraged to sign up ahead of time online.
In addition to Sunrise PDX, the hosts of the event are the Portland Association of Teachers, City of Portland Professional Workers, Portland Democratic Socialists of America and Naked Hearts PDX bike group. The lineup of speakers at the rally includes PAT president Alisha Chavez and Portland City Councilors Mitch Green, Tiffany Koyama Lane and Angelita Morillo.
In August, Portland City Council voted 8–4 to approve a preliminary term sheet that commits up to $120 million to the arena overhaul. (The state of Oregon and Multnomah County will also kick in funding for the renovation.) The term sheet will be used by city negotiators over the next few months to hash out an arena renovation and long-term lease deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and owner Tom Dundon.
In exchange for $120 million in initial city funding for an estimated $600 million renovation of Moda Center, the city is seeking a 20-year lease with the Blazers to ensure they remain in Portland for the foreseeable future.
Moda Center is a city-owned asset, built in 1995, and the oldest arena in the NBA that has not undergone a renovation.
Sunrise PDX puts the deal in harsher terms in its event announcement.
“Because billionaire Dundon is threatening to move the Portland Trail Blazers out of our city, politicians are moving quickly to give away hundreds of millions of dollars with nothing in return…As Trail Blazers fans and taxpayers, we deserve a fair deal that keeps the Blazers in Portland and doesn’t bankrupt our city.”
The Moda 500 stands in a long line of recent only-in-Portland political actions, such as our multiple World Naked Bike Rides each year and our inflatable costume–heavy protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building last fall.
“Anybody can stand with a sign, but nobody is riding [hundreds of] laps around Moda Center,” Kimball says. “This will be fun and this will be fulfilling and be a space where we are making our demands with joy and whimsy.”
