Tom Dundon deal akin to extortion

The city is responsible for Moda Center maintenance; Blazers owner should pay for improvements he wants

By Michele Peters

I have been looking into the Moda Center dilemma over the past many days, and reading this article, “Portland mayor lambasts critics of Moda Center deal as county questions investment,” the numbers stopped me. The upfront pledge is $120 million, but when you add the $280 million in operating expenses over 20 years, the total public subsidy from the city alone approaches $900 million. That figure deserves far more attention than it is getting.

Tom Dundon, who led a group that paid $4.25 billion for the franchise, has contributed exactly nothing toward renovation, and says he won’t. A $4.25 billion purchase and the new owner cannot find a dollar for the building that houses the asset? That is not a negotiation. To me, it is akin to something like extortion.

The Multnomah County commissioners are asking exactly the right question, which is what is the return on investment for this community, and they are getting no answer. The county faces a $78 million general fund deficit while being asked for $100 million. The Blazers didn’t even bother to show up to the meeting.

Wilson’s letter is also telling. Attacking a private citizen running a taxpayer advocacy website and scolding councilors for using social media rather than sitting down quietly to “figure out the math” reads as pressure to suppress public debate, not facilitate it. That is not a good sign about the transparency of the process.

So, what should we do?

Call the bluff.

Dundon paid $4.25 billion for a franchise. That price reflects the value of the Portland market, the fan base, and the arena. If Portland is worth that much to him as a purchase, it is worth something to him as a home. A buyer at that price does not walk away from the asset over a renovation negotiation unless he has somewhere better to go, and right now he does not.

The city should make clear it will fund essential structural repairs on its own building—cracked concrete, corroded steel, plumbing and fire safety—because those are ownership obligations regardless of the tenant. But renovation beyond basic maintenance should require private investment as a condition, a meaningful ownership stake in revenue streams, naming rights, luxury suites, something that makes this a genuine partnership rather than a subsidy.

If Dundon walks, he walks. But the far more likely outcome is that a billionaire who just made a $4.25 billion bet on Portland basketball finds a way to contribute when the alternative is losing the deal entirely.

The commissioners asking hard questions are doing their jobs. The council members pushing back are doing their jobs. Wilson’s instinct to close the deal quickly and quietly is the problem. Take the negotiations away from his administration. He has already shown his cards.

Portland has competent counsel. Let them negotiate without the mayor telegraphing concessions from the podium.

Michele Peters is a Northwest District resident and former attorney.