Tom Dundon just dropped a truth bomb on Portland that had every city councilor clutching their pearls and every armchair economist on Twitter having a full-blown aneurysm. The man said, straight up, that public money, and *only* public money, should fund the $600 million glow-up for the Moda Center.
And my timeline? It exploded. The quote-tweets are already drafting their rage-manifestos. The “No bailouts for billionaires” crowd is out there with their signs, looking all righteous.
I know what you’re about to type in the comments. You think Dundon is some kind of cartoon villain, a Mr. Burns with a better haircut, squeezing every last dime out of the public purse. You think he’s got L energy, that he’s cooked.
But I’m here to tell you, you’re missing the whole damn point.
Dundon isn’t the villain here. He’s the guy who just showed up to a poker game where everyone else brought Monopoly money, and he’s got a stack of chips taller than your local news anchor’s ego. He’s HIM. And the city of Portland? They’re the ones playing checkers, staring blankly at his 4D chess moves.
Let’s break down the actual facts before your favorite ESPN talking head starts hyperventilating about “optics” and “community goodwill.”
The city of Portland *owns* the Moda Center. Let that sink in for a minute. It’s not the Blazers’ private property. It’s a public asset. And like any landlord, if your property is falling apart, if it’s not attracting the big-ticket events, if it’s looking like a relic from 1995 – which, coincidentally, is when it opened – then whose responsibility is it to fix it?
“It feels like we’re making a pretty big investment by staying here and paying these tax rates,” Dundon said, according to multiple outlets, at the Portland Metro Chamber meeting.
And you know what? He’s not wrong.
The Blazers pay taxes. They generate revenue for the city. They are a massive economic engine, a cultural touchstone. They are, whether you like it or not, a *part* of the public infrastructure. If the city wants to keep that engine purring, if they want to attract NBA All-Star Games and NCAA tournaments – which, by the way, *they* said they wanted to do – then *they* need to invest in *their own damn building*.
City Councilor Candace Avalos hit back, predictably, saying, “I am going to have a hard time agreeing to give public money if I’m not seeing a private investment.”
Oh, really, Councilor? A hard time? Let me put this in terms you might understand: Dundon just dropped $4 BILLION to buy this team. Four. Billion. With a B. That’s not a private investment? That’s not “skin in the game”? What do you want, the man to personally re-tile the bathrooms himself?
That $4 billion purchase, approved in March, came with a pledge to keep the team in Portland. That’s the *real* investment. That’s the ultimate “private investment” in the city’s future, a vote of confidence worth more than a thousand refurbished luxury suites. Without the Blazers, that arena is just a glorified concert venue. And not even a particularly good one, apparently, if it needs $600 million in upgrades.
The problem here isn’t Dundon. The problem is the public sector’s inability to maintain its own assets and then getting butt-hurt when someone points out the obvious. They want the prestige, the economic boost, the national spotlight that comes with an NBA franchise, but they don’t want to pay for the upkeep of the venue *they own*. That’s pure L energy from the city. That’s being absolutely cooked.
And don’t even get me started on the pearl-clutching over Dundon’s “cost-cutting” measures. No T-shirts for playoff games? Not paying late checkout fees for staff? Two-way players not traveling? J.B. Bickerstaff, the NBCA president, called coach Micah Nori’s below-market contract a “slap in the face to our value.”
A “slap in the face”? Give me a break.
This isn’t some charity event, J.B. This is professional basketball. This is a business. Nori got a contract. He signed it. If he didn’t like the terms – one guaranteed year, team options, incentives based on team success – he wouldn’t have signed it. That’s how contracts work in the real world, outside of whatever fantasy land NBA coaches think they live in. This isn’t about “value,” it’s about leverage and market dynamics. Every GM out there is trying to get the best deal possible. Dundon is just better at it than most. He’s got that dawg in him when it comes to the balance sheet.
You think these little “cost-cutting” moves are some kind of grand scheme to screw over the fans? No. They’re smart business. They’re about optimizing every single dollar, which is exactly what a guy who just dropped $4 billion on an asset *should* be doing. The fans who care about the Blazers show up for the *team*, not for a free cotton tee. And if you think a $600 million arena renovation is somehow connected to whether a two-way player flies commercial or private, then your brain is more nerfed than a post-patch video game character.
Dundon is playing the long game. He’s not trying to win a popularity contest with City Hall. He’s not trying to get people to agree with him, as he said himself: “I don’t see it the same way, but I’m not trying to get people to agree or disagree with me.” That’s the energy of a man who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to go get it. He’s got no aura for public opinion. He’s laser-focused on the W/L column for his investment.
He knows the ultimate leverage he holds. It’s the unspoken threat, the elephant in the room that every traditional media talking head is too scared to say out loud: if this city doesn’t want to play ball, there are 29 other cities that would kill for an NBA franchise.
This isn’t a “bailout” for a billionaire. This is a city’s responsibility to maintain its own property and secure its future as a major league market. Dundon isn’t asking for a handout; he’s demanding that Portland step up and be a serious partner in a multi-billion dollar enterprise that benefits *everyone* in the region. He’s not the one who let the arena get to this point. He just bought the team that plays in it.
The city wants to attract big events? They want to be seen as a major player? Then they need a major league facility. And if they own that facility, then they need to fund its upgrades. Period. This isn’t complex. This isn’t some moral dilemma. This is basic business.
So go ahead, @ me. Tell me I’m glazing Dundon. Tell me I’m defending the rich. I’m telling you, I’m defending common sense. Dundon is simply holding the city accountable for its own asset. He’s showing them what a real owner does. He’s not just talking; he’s making moves.
And if the city councilors can’t see that, then maybe they’re the ones with the real L energy.
Is the public truly owed a private investment in a public arena they already own, or is Dundon simply reminding them where the buck actually stops?
