Full-court absurdity

The drama surrounding the proposed renovation of the Trail Blazers' basketball palace contnues to suck a lot of the oxygen out of the Portland news environment. And I must say, the story gets a little more surreal every day.

Earlier in the week, the commissioner of the shadowy organization known as the NBA took a break from his side gig as a model at a funeral home to decry the fact that the negotiation between the Blazers amd Portland City Hall "seems to have gone off track." The team chimed in that it was getting impatient for the city to produce a "term sheet" for a deal whereby the city would pay nine figures toward renovating the Moda Center, and the Blazers would pay nothing.

The city could have responded with a demand to see more of the actual plans for the work on the building, but instead it capitulated, sort of, with the mayor producing a half-fast "draft term sheet" that the O said is "expected to be finalized next month." 

There are all sorts of questions. For one thing, it appears that the city is not committing itself to anything written in that document. It's just a "draft." And in order for it to be "finalized," it would have to be approved by the wayward City Council, six of whom are up for re-election and all 12 of whom are locked in a years-long battle to the death between the forces of socialism and capitalism.

Besides, according to the Weed, the document contains nothing new. In keeping with that idea, it seems exceedingly vague.

While the draft itself was not made public, the city’s press office released a summary of its provisions. None is substantially different from what was widely discussed when the Oregon Legislature approved $365 million for the project in April. Those conditions include a 20-year commitment from the Blazers to play home games at Moda Center, labor peace agreements to assure trade union jobs on the renovation, and an annual property tax offset payment that starts at $3 million and escalates over the next 20 years.

It's a draft of a framework of a plan. And so despite the headlines, it sure seems like nothing of significance has happened this week. Unless you like strange theater.

Meanwhile, to make it look like there's a groundswell of support for full public funding of the arena overhaul (it seems like the populace is in fact split 50-50 on the proposition), a "coalition" has been formed to issue press releases supporting the handout and to rah-rah the whole thing. As soon as you say "coalition," I bang the gong and tune out, but it's interesting to see who's shilling for the Blazers' billionaire owner.

"This is an incredibly important moment for Portland, and for the future of sport in Oregon," Jim Etzel, CEO of Sport Oregon and one of the coalition's four co-chairs, said in a statement. "We Are Rip City exists because the civic community cannot stand by and hope for the best. If we miss this window, we will not get another."

The coalition boasts a long list of member organizations across multiple industries including prominent local restaurants like Le Pigeon and Olympia Provisions, real estate companies like Menashe Properties and Colas Construction, business and trade groups like the Black Business Association of Oregon and the National Association of Minority Contractors, as well as the WNBA team Portland Fire and the team's ownership group, RAJ Sports.

And don't forget the equity-wash! In this case from Damon Stoudamire's cousin.

"Our City Councilors and County Commissioners must act soon. We are at risk of losing the Trail Blazers, and that would be devastating for our community," Karis Stoudamire-Phillips, vice president of DEI and community initiatives at Moda Health and a co-chair of the coalition, said in a statement. "But this is not just about preventing a loss. This is also about building a thriving Central City and partnering in the restorative development of the Albina neighborhood."

Some are despairing. The O's sports columnist Bill Oram continues to suggest, based on owner Tom Dundon's hardball posturing, that he's not bargaining in good faith and has already decided to move the team. Demanding an unacceptable deal on the building, Oram theorizes, will give the owner an easy excuse to take Ja Morant, Dame Dolla, and the rest of the crew out of Portland.

The longer the bizarre interactions drag on, the uglier it's going to get. As a taxpayer, try as I might to be Portland Polite™ here, I'm feel like we're geting pushed around by some rude dude from Ted Cruz Land. Our city is not some poor schmuck who desperately needs a loan from Dundon to buy a used car. If he can't negotiate like a gentleman, and act like he understands the politics of the place, let him try to move the team. Given that he doesn't even have all the money rounded up yet to buy the Blazers, at this point he might have trouble affording the moving van. The purchase price for the team, a fifth of which is on layaway, is more than double his reported net worth.

And where could he go? Seattle and Las Vegas are supposed to be getting expansion teams, not an existing team. So Nashville? Kansas City? Vancouver, B.C.?

The other unreal element of all this is the supposed deadline of December. A deal, we're told, has to be done by then. Really? Not really. I guess the law handing over $365 million of state income taxes to the renovation crews expires at the end of the year, but the legislature can pass another bill early next year if need be.

In its current state, having undergone several rounds of improvements over the years, the Moda Center is perfectly good for pro basketball for at least a few more years, and I believe the Blazers are required by contract to play at Moda for at least another four seasons. A half-billion-dollar-plus deal need not be done in a hurry. And given Portland politics, no matter how cranky Dundon gets and how shrill the bleats of the "coalition," a deal like this is going to take time.

I'm kind of surprised nobody's hit up Portland's oddball Metro government for nine figures. They built the white elephant hotel at the Convention Center without batting an eye; the Blazers are a short walk away (or in that part of town, maybe you should run).

Anyway, we haven't even broached the subject yet of who will pay for the cost overruns when the $600 million liars' budget floating around now becomes more like $900 million. Wait 'til the City Council Book Club tackles that issue.