The Portland Trail Blazers moved one step closer to receiving the public funding they have requested to renovate the Moda Center after the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners approved a term sheet that would approve up to $101.6 million to redo the 31-year-old arena.The board voted 4-1 to approve the funding, which is $13.6 million more than the original $88 million proposed in March. The increase budgets for maintenance and service costs, though two commissioners questioned from where and how the funding will come.“I want this step today to be seen by the NBA and its board of governors to know just how serious we are about keeping the Blazers here in Portland,” said county chair Jessica Vega Pederson.The vote Thursday does not finalize funding. It merely serves as a starting ground for negotiations between the county and the Blazers, both of whom will join the city of Portland in talks before a December vote.The Blazers are hoping to receive at least $573 million in total from county, city and state officials. Portland’s city council is set to vote next week on whether to approve its share of $120 million. The state legislature has already appropriated $365 million, which the Blazers would receive if the other lines of funding come through and if the city and the team reach a deal on a new lease by the end of the calendar year.The funding approval is a necessary step in an involved process, as commissioners repeatedly mentioned during a long meeting Thursday in which they aired out their disagreements before voting. If local officials were to approve all of the money the Blazers are seeking, they would still need to agree on a long-term lease agreement to keep the Blazers at the Moda Center. Their current agreement serves as a bridge to keep the team there until October 2030.Negotiations between the city and the Blazers have grown frosty recently. They have publicly argued over a term in the current bridge lease that could allow the city to sue the Blazers, though city officials have repeatedly said they do not intend to act on it and would only consider it if the Blazers were to relocate. Last month, in a July 27 email to Blazers officials, deputy city administrator Donnie Oliveira said that the bridge agreements prevents the city from suing the Blazers during the course of the lease.“We again reiterate our position in this proposal that the information RCM provides regarding any future renovation will not be used against [the Blazers] and the city has no intention of using the current Bridge Agreement in that manner,” Oliveira wrote. He then added, in bold and underlined, language from the lease, “Landlord agrees not to raise, assert, pursue, or otherwise enforce in any manner the “first-class” obligations of Tenant hereunder.”The Blazers have nonetheless asked the city to strip that clause — which was included in the 2024 bridge lease and stipulates that the Blazers must maintain the Moda Center in a “first class manner” — and take away the threat of a lawsuit. City officials have balked at that request and said they will not renegotiate a previously signed agreement.“The mayor, the city administrator, the city attorney have never contemplated suing the Blazers,” Portland mayor Keith Wilson said last week during an open forum with city counselors that was attended by several top Blazers officials. “It’s never been a part of our conversations.”Blazers president Dewayne Hankins took aim at the city’s business environment during that meeting, saying it has hampered the Blazers.“Portland’s current stagnant business climate, high income taxes and divisive political environment makes this a tough city to invest in,’’ Hankins said. “It makes it harder to sell tickets, secure corporate sponsorships and recruit players.’’Why the Portland Trail Blazers traded for Ja MorantEsfandiar Baraheni and Jeshua KiddThe city council is set to vote on Aug. 12 on whether they will approve their portion of the funding.Some Multnomah county commissioners seemed uneasy with releasing so much money for the arena and the team but ultimately did so Thursday.“I want to make this clear to the NBA,” Meghan Moyer, one of five commissioners, said. “Although I personally would like our contribution to be less, I want to be very clear that I have heard — although I will say indirectly because nobody from the Blazers has ever talked to me — that it is incredibly important to show our intent that they have $88 million from us in the capital stack. How that got to be, I have feelings about, but is not relevant to this conversation. The thing that I believe we are hearing, and I want to make clear to the NBA, is we’ve been asked for that level of contribution as an important symbol of this region’s commitment to the Blazers. This amendment gets us to what has been asked for by Rip City Management, which is the Blazers, and the understanding of the NBA.”The county has also hired Chris Oxley, a former Blazers executive and general manager of the Rose Quarter, as its lead negotiator.Aug 6, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms