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In a press conference Tuesday evening, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed dismay at the pace of negotiations to renovate Moda Center, and said a potential deal to keep the Trail Blazers in Portland “seems to have gone off track.”
Silver’s remarks, made July 14 in Las Vegas, came in reply to a question posed by Sean Highkin of independent media outlet The Rose Garden Report, who asked if Portland City Council approval of $120 million in public subsidy for the arena overhaul would be sufficient to guarantee the Blazers’ future in Portland.
Silver offered no such reassurance. Instead, he said he had discussed the situation with new Blazers owner Tom Dundon and city officials, but wasn’t pleased by what he heard.
“I spent time with Tom and his partners here in Las Vegas,” Silver said, “and what we are most focused on right now, the league office, is the deal that we discussed when we were in Portland in March. I was hoping more progress would’ve been made by now on that agreement, and it seems to have gone off track in various ways. I have a colleague who’s day-to-day on it, but we are working with both sides to ensure that the Trail Blazers can have a long-term future in Portland. But there are several open issues that still need to be resolved.”
Silver’s remarks follow a report by Oregon Public Broadcasting this week that city councilors will vote without seeing the specifics of what the money would be used for. Independent sports columnist John Canzano then reported that Dundon and the Blazers have largely broken off written communication with city officials; Canzano surmised that Dundon was slow-walking a deal in hopes that a “no” vote by the City Council would allow him to pursue more lucrative markets.
City Council President Jamie Dunphy alluded to that frustration in a social media post last Tuesday night. “One incredibly easy way that the negotiations could get back on track is if the Blazers could respond to some of the basic requests for information we have repeatedly asked for since April but have yet to receive,” Dunphy wrote. “Maybe Commissioner Silver can help us with that?”
On Wednesday, Mayor Keith Wilson signaled that he’d like Silver to compel Dundon to provide details of the proposed arena upgrade.
“We are operating on an aggressive timeline to reach a new lease, and we have been explicit with the Blazers that design information and clarity around public investment are necessary to move forward,” Wilson said in a statement. “The absence of essential details from the Blazers is slowing progress at a moment when urgency is required. We know that the NBA is committed to Portland and we look forward to working with them to ensure negotiations on a renovated Moda Center and a new long-term lease happen in good faith.”
In a statement issued in reply, Blazers director of public affairs Charles Boyle said the team had worked “in lockstep” with city, county and state officials to craft the funding package passed by the Legislature in the spring.
“Since that time, we’ve been engaged in multiple discussions of renovation elements, conceptual visions, and building walkthroughs with the mayor and other city officials,” Boyle said. “The city has more information than state leaders had during the legislative session.
He continued: “The Trail Blazers are ready to begin formal negotiations immediately using the framework set for us by SB 1501 and the $365 million already made available for this project. However, the parties must reach an agreement this year. We share the city’s sense of urgency. The next step is for the city to bring a term sheet to the table.”
The backdrop to the standoff: a City Council and mayoral administration that have yet to demonstrate an ability to work in harmony, and a Texas billionaire who has made it evident he won’t leave a penny on the table.
City councilors must vote on a term sheet for the Moda Center overhaul by Aug. 12 in order to have enough time to hash out details of a lease with the Blazers before a state funding package of $365 million expires in December.
Representatives of the Blazers could not immediately be reached for comment.
This post has been updated.
