[OPB] Trail Blazers demand more than arena funding in Portland City Council appearance
The Portland Trail Blazers arrived at Portland City Hall on Thursday ready to talk about much more than money.
After days of uncertainty whether team officials would show up at all, Blazers officials arrived at a City Council hearing in force — and with a forceful message.
The city needs to do more than just help fund a roughly $575 million renovation of the Moda Center, they said, if it wants to assure the Blazers’ long-term presence in the state.
Also necessary to address, the team suggested, is everything from a legal threat by the city over the arena’s condition, to income tax rates, to Portland’s reputation on a national stage.
“The arena is only a small piece of that bigger picture,” Dewayne Hankins, the Trail Blazers’ president of business operations, told the council. “Portland’s current stagnant business climate, high income taxes, and divisive political environment make this a tough city to invest in. It makes it harder to sell tickets, secure corporate partnerships and … recruit players.”
What the city should *not* anticipate, Hankins and other Blazers executives said, is any private contribution to a Moda revamp.
Source: https://www.opb.org/article/2026/07/30/portland-trail-blazers-moda-center-oregon-basketball/