The new Tom Dundon-led “Rip City Rising” ownership group of the Portland Trail Blazers hadn’t made the greatest of first impressions on the fanbase, and things are only getting worse. Dundon’s ownership group is seeking complete public funding for the renovation of the Moda Center, which could cost upwards of $600 million. As you’d imagine, there has unsurprisingly been some pushback towards that.
The threat, of course, in this kind of tussle is Dundon relocating the team. While some of Portland’s politicians have termed the threat of relocation a bluff, The Oregonian’s Bill Oram isn’t ruling it out. Oram thinks Dundon could take that step, and he named potential destinations if the team gets moved.
“Nashville and Austin are the two most obvious. The proximity of Austin to San Antonio presents a challenge, but the easy geography and access to an exploding economy may be too much for the rest of the owners to ignore. If the door is even cracked slightly, you’d have to think the Dallas-bred Dundon would leap at the chance to get into his home state’s capital city.
“Beyond those two, though: Kansas City, San Diego and Vancouver, B.C. make varying degrees of sense. And don’t forget Silver’s desire to push the league into Mexico City someday. That likely won’t be via expansion if the league is sitting at 32 teams.”
The Trail Blazers originated in Portland in 1970 and have been playing at the Moda Center since 1995. The arena has fallen behind others in the NBA now, and Dundon wants renovations. His group isn’t keen on contributing financially, though, citing the fact that they have just brought the team at a $4.2 billion valuation from Paul Allen’s Estate.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has signed Senate Bill 1501, approving $365 million in state-issued bonds to renovate the arena. That is contingent, though, on the city of Portland and Multnomah County contributing $235 million and the Trail Blazers signing a 20-year lease.
The team’s lease with the city of Portland expires in 2030. With Seattle looking set to get a team as part of NBA expansion, it would be a shame if Portland then loses one.
Dundon might have set a record for how quickly a fanbase turns on an owner. The NBA only authorised the sale of the Trail Blazers to his group on March 31.
Dundon notably found himself in the spotlight for his cost-cutting measures. The Trail Blazers were the only team not sending two-way players on the road at the start of the playoffs. Prior to their play-in game against the Phoenix Suns, staffers were also seen at the lobby of their hotel, as the team wanted to avoid the cost of a late checkout.
Dundon reportedly is only willing to pay $1.5 million per year in salaries to a new head coach this summer, too, which is well below the NBA standard. It’s hard to find any positives here.
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas thinks the next generation of talent wouldn’t want to go to the Trail Blazers due to Dundon’s measures. That could well prove to be true.
