What did Portland authorize for the Moda Center negotiations?

WHEREAS, the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association are a city treasure, providing civic pride, identity, joy, as well as meaningful economic activity to the city of Portland, metropolitan region, and state of Oregon; andWHEREAS, the City of Portland and Oregon Arena Corporation entered into a series of agreements in the early 1990s that led to the development of the Rose Quarter as we now know it, including construction of the Rose Garden Arena (now Moda Center), an entertainment complex building and several public and private parking structures; andWHEREAS, Rip City Management LLC is the successor entity to Oregon Arena Corporation and continues to operate both the Moda Center and the Veterans Memorial Coliseum today; andWHEREAS, a key agreement is the Arena Ground Lease which became effective when the new arena opened on October 12, 1995, and provided that at the end of the original lease term in 2025, ownership of the arena would transfer to the City; and WHEREAS, consistent with the provisions of the Arena Ground Lease, ownership of Moda Center was transferred to the City in 2024 as part of establishing a new Arena Operating Lease which extended the Portland Trail Blazers' commitment to play in Moda Center through the 2029-2030 NBA season; and WHEREAS, the Arena Operating Lease will expire, unless extended, on October 11, 2030; and WHEREAS, the Rose Quarter (Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum) is the premiere event complex in the state of Oregon, hosting over 260 events and attracting more than 1.7 million people to Portland's Central City each year; and WHEREAS, as of 2023, the combined economic impact of Moda Center and Rose Quarter events is estimated to be over $600 million in annual economic output each year, supporting nearly 6,000 jobs; andWHEREAS, it is critically important to both Portland, the metropolitan region, and the state of Oregon that the arenas at the Rose Quarter continue to be successfully operated and that Moda Center remains the home court for the Portland Trail Blazers; andWHERAS, Moda Center is over thirty years old, is one of the older NBA arenas yet to undergo a comprehensive renovation, and will need significant reinvestment to remain competitive in the league; and WHEREAS, Moda Center has been well maintained and remains in good operating condition, but many systems are original to the building and will require replacement in the coming years to allow continued operations; andWHEREAS, Moda Center requires a variety of upgrades to continue serving both as an NBA arena, and also successfully host a wide variety of other events including WNBA games, NCAA games, concerts and family shows; andWHEREAS, prior to acquiring Moda Center in 2024, the City commissioned a facility condition assessment of the arena that recommended phased investment of roughly $500 million would be required to keep the arena operating in good condition for 20 more years; andWHEREAS, as a City-owned facility, should the current lease expire without extension or replacement with a new long-term lease, funding facility upgrades will become a City-responsibility without the participation of identified funding partners; andWHEREAS, the City and Rip City Management LLC have been working in good faith to develop the framework for a long-term deal that would fund a major renovation of Moda Center and secure a new lease to keep the team in Portland for 20 or more years; and WHEREAS, the City alone is not able to provide the public financial support necessary for the major renovation necessary to secure a new long-term deal; and WHEREAS, in the 2026 Legislative session the State of Oregon passed Senate Bill 1501 authorizing the state to enter into a new Oregon Arena Joint Authority (Joint Authority) with one or more public bodies to renovate and oversee operations at Moda Center; andWHEREAS, Senate Bill 1501 authorized the state to issue debt instruments not to exceed $365 million in net proceeds to support construction and renovation of the Moda Center with conditions; andWHEREAS, Senate Bill 1501 states that the state may not issue any debt instrument unless, among other things, the Joint Authority has executed one or more agreements with Rip City Management or another management entity with a binding commitment to lease the Moda Center for a minimum of 20 years; andWHEREAS, Senate Bill 1501 states that the state may not issue any debt instrument unless, among other things, the Joint Authority has approved the project and has final approval of scope, schedule and budget for construction or renovation related to the Moda Center; andWHEREAS, Senate Bill 1501 states that the state may not issue any debt instrument unless, among other things, the Joint Authority has determined that the City of Portland and Multnomah County have made binding and substantial commitments to finance construction, renovation, maintenance and deferred maintenance of the Moda Center; andWHEREAS, the City Council held Work Sessions on June 24, 2026, and July 30, 2026, to discuss priorities for the lease agreement and associated public investment for renovation and learn about the process; andWHEREAS, as of July 30, 2026, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners is working to confirm its financial commitment to the project as outlined in Exhibit A; and WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the City, Joint Authority, State, County and Rip City Management to enter into a long-term deal that will provide for the continued public ownership of the Moda Center, and allow the City to make a binding and substantial commitment to the construction, renovation, maintenance and deferred maintenance of the Moda Center; andWHEREAS, in a July 10, 2026 memo shared with the City Council on July 13, 2026, (included as supplemental information), the City's Chief Financial Officer: 1) provided City Council and the City's governmental and private partners with confidence that the City can meet the original funding commitment to renovate the City-owned Moda Center and maintain the Trail Blazers as a long-term anchor tenant, should the initially proposed funding scenario not materialize; 2) presented information on possible financing scenarios, of which there are multiple options that could be explored; and 3) anticipated the City will continue to pursue any other legal and potentially feasible funding opportunities that may develop; andWHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the City to reinvest certain revenues generated by the Moda Center into sustaining improvements to the arena beyond the renovation, and ensure that the Trail Blazers play at Moda Center for a minimum of 20 years; andWHEREAS, user fee revenue the City receives from Moda Center events, parking for events, and other Rose Quarter related revenues may be explicitly dedicated for Moda Center capital investments and improvements; andWHEREAS, all financial contributions for the Moda Center renovation project consistent with the formal definitive documents as approved by the City Council will subsequently be allocated through the regular City budget process; andWHEREAS, in the interest of moving this conversation forward efficiently and with a high level of transparency, on July 16, 2026, the City provided a draft term sheet similar in form to that attached as Exhibit A to Rip City Management LLC and Trail Blazers Holdings, LLC, and also made the draft Term Sheet publicly available.NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Portland City Council affirms its support for the proposed Term Sheet to renovate Moda Center and keep the Portland Trail Blazers playing there for a minimum of 20 more years; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor is authorized to sign the Moda Center – Arena Renovation and Post-Renovation Operations Term Sheet in a form substantially similar to that attached as Exhibit A, but not to commit to use of any specific funding source; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Portland City Council directs the City Administration to work with Rip City Management, LLC, Trail Blazers Holdings, LLC, the State of Oregon and the Oregon Arena Joint Authority to develop formal definitive documents and amendments to existing agreements as necessitated by the terms contained in Exhibit A, but not to commit to use of any specific funding source; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Portland City Council directs the City Administration to negotiate final agreements that deliver a return on investment for the City's financial contributions to the Moda Renovation, through a combination of terms and community benefits; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Portland City Council directs the City Administration to negotiate final agreements that provide the City with rights, remedies, protections, and enforcement authorities comparable to those contained in the existing Bridge Agreement; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Portland City Council will consider formal definitive documents and amendments to existing agreements as contemplated by the terms contained in Exhibit A no later than December 31, 2026.