The Trail Blazers announced today that they "seek to enter into what they are calling a 'bridge agreement'" with the city of Portland for their lease at the Moda Center that will "provide at least five additional years to continue working toward a long-term lease while also allowing the Blazers to move forward with plans to renovate both the 28-year-old arena and the Rose Quarter." The Blazers' arena lease expires in 2025 and the two parties "have not been able to hammer out a new long-term lease" to this point. The plan will be presented before the Portland City Council on Wednesday during a public hearing. Blazers President of Business Operations Dewayne Hankins said "details within the lease are outdated" and the team wants to "negotiate a new agreement more in line with lease agreements reached by other NBA teams and their respective cities" ( Portland OREGONIAN, 2/23 ).
The extension is "nonbinding" and "acts as a green light for the city and team to work toward finalizing a deal by the summer." The proposal also "comes with the ability to be renewed for another five-year term after 2030," but "the goal is to hammer out a much longer-term lease by that point" ( OPB.org, 2/23 ).
