Rumors

Efforts to secure public funding to renovate the aging Moda Center formally ramped up on Monday with the introduction of a bill in the Oregon Senate that drew widespread support from government leaders, including Gov. Tina Kotek. The legislation, Senate Bill 1501, would divert income taxes from performers and athletes, including the high-paid Portland Trail Blazers, to a new Oregon Arena Fund and give the state joint ownership of the building with the city of Portland. “The Moda Center, with the Portland Trail Blazers as its anchor tenant, is a source of civic pride and is critical to the strength and continued growth of our local, regional, and statewide economies,” said Senate President Rob Wagner, who sponsored the bill. “Renovating Oregon’s Arena is the best investment we can make in Oregon’s economic future.”

Oregonian

Multiple local politicians, ranging from Mayor Keith Wilson to Commissioner Shannon Singleton to Gov. Tina Kotek, have voiced various levels of support to the franchise and process in recent days. Just last month, Kotek spoke with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as part of an effort to ensure the Blazers do not relocate once Dundon and his group take over. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden offered his own support Saturday. “I think that the Blazers and Moda are infrastructure,” he said. “There’s a huge economic development opportunity. For example, this is where we have concerts and stuff all summer long. I think this is a big economic force in the state and want it to be treated that way.”

Oregonian

In a letter to the NBA Commissioner, Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson made it clear they want to see the Portland Trail Blazers stay in the city and the Moda Center renovated. “The Portland Trail Blazers are more than a part of our history — they are part of our future,” Kotek and Wilson wrote in a letter Tuesday. The letter marks the first significant public lobbying from two of Oregon’s most prominent politicians on the fate of the Blazers and the publicly-owned arena they call home.

opb.org

Gov. Kotek and Mayor Wilson wrote in their letter that the “Blazers are in our DNA, and at the center of what makes this community so special.’ “We fully support renovating the Moda Center to become a point of pride for the Blazers and for our city,” Kotek and Wilson wrote. “We are prepared to explore the public-private partnerships needed to make it happen.”

opb.org