[Mirtle] Overall, continued Dundon, whose net worth is estimated at $2.3 billion by Forbes, any perceived belt-tightening is really driven by another simple goal: “I don’t make the decisions to save money. I make the decisions to win.”
After years of coveting an NBA team, Dundon’s $4.25 billion bid to buy the Portland Trail Blazers was formally approved by the league’s Board of Governors on March 30, two months before the Hurricanes reached the summit of their sport. Before long, though, he had become a massive lightning rod, with reports of his unusual cost-cutting measures drawing national backlash: During the Blazers’ first-round playoff series, a five-game loss to the eventual Western Conference-champion San Antonio Spurs, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons memorably branded Dundon as “El Cheapo.”
To many who have worked with Dundon in hockey, whether on the Hurricanes or from the vantage point of the NHL’s league office, this recent avalanche of criticism from the basketball world has come as a surprise. In speaking for this story, they provided many colorful words to describe a man laser-focused on both winning games and eliminating inefficiencies — including “demanding,” “intense,” “data-driven” and “obsessive.” But “cheap” was not something any of them had experienced.
“The fact of the matter is, he doesn’t always do things in traditional ways,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “I think in some ways he’s a bit of a disruptor, but he’s extraordinarily creative and effective. And the results in Carolina — they’re both on and off the ice.”
Earlier on Friday night, Dundon flew into Raleigh via private jet and arrived at Lenovo Center mere minutes before the start of Game 5. As he did, he sent a cryptic text containing only a luxury suite number and the words, “I’m walking in.”
Moments later, with the puck drop nearing, Dundon stood in a private box that was packed with Hurricanes jerseys and poised to erupt. There, in a rare recent instance of him granting an interview request, the two-team owner spoke to The Athletic about the storm that’s swirled around him since he bought the Blazers.
It’s clear from our conversation that Dundon was caught off-guard by the criticism over his early decisions in Portland, which included replacing free T-shirts for fans at home playoff games with towels and, in an unprecedented-for-the-NBA move, not traveling with its two-way players to San Antonio for the start of the first round. (Dundon later apologized for the latter.) But, in reflecting on what he would do differently, he only expressed regret about the timing.
“If there were little changes that I thought were going to get out, that were going to create drama in the middle of the (NBA) playoffs, I wouldn’t have done it,” he said. “That was the main thing.”
Overall, continued Dundon, whose net worth is estimated at $2.3 billion by Forbes, any perceived belt-tightening is really driven by another simple goal: “I don’t make the decisions to save money. I make the decisions to win.”
Dundon brought a similar mindset to Raleigh after buying a controlling stake in the Hurricanes in 2018, and it ruffled feathers then, too. Some staff voluntarily left the organization after deciding that the new owner’s brash ways weren’t for them, while others departed as financial casualties, such as beloved local broadcasters Chuck Kaiton and John Forslund.
“You have somebody who’s coming in and asking in every area: ‘Why are you doing it this way? Are you sure that’s the right way?‘” said Tulsky, then the Hurricanes’ manager of hockey analytics. “And the answer — ‘I’ve been doing this for 15 years. Trust me. I know.’ — didn’t fly with him. He wanted you to convince him. And that’s scary for someone who’s been doing it for 15 years and feels like they know it and they’re being challenged.”
The cuts also stoked fears among fans that the franchise would eventually be relocated. But again, Dundon does not apologize. “We kept a lot of people and got rid of a lot of people and all the story was about who you got rid off, not who you kept,” he said. “I think the ability to look at everybody and make sure the people you absolutely have to have (ultimately) stay with you is important. And we did it here.”
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Despite initial concerns that Dundon might relocate the Hurricanes, whose attendance bottomed out to last in the NHL with fewer than 12,000 fans per game in 2016-17, those have proven unfounded. After years of negotiations, the team recently signed a new lease extension at Lenovo Center through 2043-44, with local government officials committing to a \(300 million renovation that’s currently underway on the aging facility. Dundon, meanwhile, pledged \)800 million to develop the area around an arena that has long been surrounded by only parking lots.
Whether Dundon can reach a similar agreement in Portland for the 31-year-old Moda Center remains an open question, one that serves as a troubling backdrop for Blazers fans anxious about the team’s new owner. Municipal negotiations remain at an early stage, with signs pointing to a potentially more difficult process than in Raleigh.
As the NBA was conducting due diligence on Dundon as a potential owner, commissioner Adam Silver checked in with Bettman on the billionaire’s NHL reputation. Silver received a glowing report back, featuring details on how Dundon had rebuilt the Hurricanes and inked a deal to keep them in Raleigh for the long haul.
“They wanted to make sure he was an owner in good standing, which he is. I think he’s a terrific owner,” Bettman said, calling Dundon “extremely thoughtful and really smart” and the results he’s overseen in Carolina “extraordinary.”
“The team has been well-assimilated into the community in terms of corporate sponsorship and partnerships,” the NHL commissioner added. “The season-ticket base and the fan base is great, the way they sell out that building.”
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7323024/2026/06/02/tom-dundon-hurricanes-trail-blazers-owner/