Portland Council Opens Formal Talks After 8-4 Vote on $120M Moda Center Term Sheet

Overview

• The City Council voted 8-4 to approve an amended, nonbinding term sheet that commits up to $120 million in city funds and formally begins negotiations with the Trail Blazers.
• The term sheet sets an opening offer that seeks roughly $3.17 million in annual rent, about $3 million a year to offset property taxes, a 20-year occupancy commitment, and $275 million in ongoing capital and maintenance funding.
• Trail Blazers officials called some provisions a “non-starter” but said they will negotiate in good faith, leaving major issues on private contributions, who pays cost overruns, lease language, and transparency unresolved.
• Negotiators will work through the fall with a council vote on a final lease expected in December and a hard deadline that Oregon’s $365 million in state bond authority will lapse if bonds are not sold by the end of the year.
• The vote follows county and state commitments that together approach $573–586 million in public backing and highlights the tradeoff local leaders face between preserving the team’s presence and answering critics who say the city must get clearer financial and community returns.