Mayors from 24 Portland-area cities call on city to secure Moda Center deal

As debate around public money on Moda Center renovations heats up, officials from Portland’s suburbs are chiming in.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, a group of 24 mayors from cities around the metro area urged leaders to do what they can to keep the Trail Blazers from leaving Portland in their arena negotiations.

“The Blazers and Fire may have jerseys that read ‘Portland,’ but they’re our home teams, too,” reads the letter, sent by the Metropolitan Mayors’ Consortium (of which Wilson is a member). “We share a regional economy, a workforce, and destination status. Our economic decisions affect one another.”

Portland City Council is weeks away from a self-imposed deadline to vote on its own $120 million funding commitment to the Blazers. But with scant information from the Blazers as to how their new owners plan to spend this money, some councilors have reservations. Those concerns have also been raised by county commissioners, who will also be asked to support a roughly $88 million funding package for renovations next week.

Metro area mayors — ranging from Beaverton to Troutdale — say that Portland and county officials should consider the impact a failed arena deal could have on their communities.

“To those still weighing funding decisions,” the letter reads, “we would ask that you continue to ask hard questions and negotiate professionally while acknowledging the deep mark your decisions will make on your neighbors, as well as the overwhelming commitment already made by the surrounding region.”

The letter reflects sentiments shared by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver earlier this week. During a press conference, Silver said it appeared the negotiations between the city and Blazers had “gone off track” and urged both parties to continue working together to ensure the team has a “long-term future in Portland.”

While Portland officials say they’ve been kept in the dark from Blazers management about how their money would be spent, the Blazers say they’ve “engaged in exhaustive communication for months.” Spokesperson Charles Boyle told OPB earlier this month that the team is waiting for the city to share its public funding plan with the Blazers before sharing renovation plans.

Portland officials shared a rough draft Thursday of what they’d like to see from the Blazers in exchange for their investment — including a 20-year agreement to keep the Blazers playing in Portland, an annual payment of $3 million from owners, a commitment to rely solely on renewable energy, discounted concession pricing, and other community benefits.

This document will be analyzed and tweaked by Blazers representatives before City Council votes on the plan on Aug. 12, which will kick off months of negotiations between the NBA team and the city.

On Thursday, a coalition of local businesses, organized by former Blazers lobbyists, issued a press release calling on city leaders to approve a term sheet and cement the team’s future in Portland.