Oregon lawmakers are a vote away from sending a major infusion of state money to Portland’s Moda Center, after the state Senate approved the move Wednesday.

In a bipartisan 24-6 vote, senators passed Senate Bill 1501, a proposal to spend $365 million to renovate the 30-year-old arena.

The bill has been a major focus in this year’s legislative session, as elected officials worry a new owner could move the Trail Blazers out of Portland.

Texas billionaire Tom Dundon is expected to take over the team later this month.

“We have heard in some testimony — and from the Zoom screens of far-flung places — that the Blazers aren’t going anywhere,” said Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego. “While I certainly hope this is the case, hope is not a strategy. That’s not a bet any of us should make.”

Under SB 1501, the state would siphon income tax revenues currently paid by the Blazers, employers and performers in Portland’s Rose Quarter, and construction workers tapped to carry out arena renovations.

That money – an anticipated $72 million in the next budget cycle – would become unavailable to fund other state services. It would instead be used to pay off $365 million in bonds.

Those bonds could ultimately cost the state between $530 million and $625 million, including interest, according to budget analysts.

The state funding is conditioned on the Blazers signing a 20-year-lease to remain at Moda. And it would require major spending from the City of Portland and Multnomah County, which have said they would combine to chip in more than $200 million to the renovation.

According to the bill, the Blazers would be responsible for paying any cost overruns if they occur.

That’s the only suggestion that the team may have to foot some of the bill for the project.

“Moda Center truly is Oregon’s arena, where people from across the state come together for concerts, family shows, rodeos, and basketball games,” Dewayne Hankins, president of business operations for the Blazers, said in a statement following the Senate vote. “Reinvesting the revenue generated by Moda Center back into the arena is an investment in jobs, the economy, and a bright future for Oregon. ”

The Moda Center bill is a major public investment at a time lawmakers are filling holes in the current budget and expecting far larger deficits in the future.

But in the Senate on Wednesday, lawmakers from both parties and regions throughout the state found reasons to support the bill – even those with zero interest in basketball.

“I know there was some guy here, I literally cannot remember his name,” state Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis, said, referring to Blazers legend Terry Porter visiting the Capitol to tout the bill. “I don’t know the Trail Blazers, but I do know the Moda Center because we have all used the Moda Center.”

State Sen. Kate Lieber, D-Portland, spoke of a future where Portland “wouldn’t be a flyover” for major musical acts.

“Do you know how many cargo bays you need to support a Taylor Swift concert?” Lieber said. “Like, a lot of cargo bays. They need more cargo bays.”

Republicans supported the bill, too, reasoning that losing the state’s only NBA team would compound its challenges.

“This 20-year investment is going to bring in billions of economic output for this state over its time,” said state Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, who read off a litany of grim economic indicators that have bedeviled Portland.

Not everyone was on board.

The Moda Center proposal has been hounded by critics, who suggest the state has far more leverage than it thinks to secure concessions from Dundon.

State Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, pointed to a large body of research that shows public financing for arena projects rarely achieves the expected economic benefits.

“The Blazers are great. They’re Oregon’s team,” she said. “I’m just not for diverting taxpayer money to this project.”

Thatcher joined five other senators – both Republicans and Democrats – in opposing the bill.

Lawmakers say they will not be pushovers as the state works to secure an agreement from Dundon and the Blazers to remain in Portland.

One late amendment to the bill will require the state to hire a negotiator with experience hammering out arena deals.

“We will drive a hard bargain right back at them, said Wagner. “With new Blazers ownership coming to town, now is the time to strike.”

SB 1501 now moves to the House. Gov. Tina Kotek has said she will sign the bill.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/03/04/oregon-senate-advances-365-million-moda-center-revamp/