Press Release: Portland City Councilors Green, Morillo, Avalos, and Koyama-Lane react to Moda Term Sheet passing

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For immediate releaseContact: Maria Sipin, [email protected] of Staff, Councilor Mitch Green

Portland City Councilors Mitch Green, Angelita Morillo, Candace Avalos, and Tiffany Koyama-Lane issued the following statement after voting "no" on the draft Moda Center Term Sheet that ultimately passed, 8-4, at the August 12th City Council meeting.
While many news sources reported that this Moda deal will only cost Portland taxpayers $120 million over the lifetime of the deal, this is incorrect. Portlanders will be on the hook for at least $400 million under the current terms due to the City pre-committing an additional $275 million after the renovation.

Councilors Green, Morillo, and Avalos introduced multiple amendments to the term sheet that would have strengthened protections for Portland taxpayers, increased the financial return on investment, and ensured that Council would have key information about tradeoffs before voting on the final lease agreement. While some elements of these amendments - such as a stipulation of yearly rent - were included in the amended draft term sheet, critical provisions that set stronger parameters for protecting public dollars were voted down and left out of the negotiating framework.

Sports economists and scholars have published more than 100 peer-reviewed studies that challenged claims of public benefits associated with publicly funded stadium investments. These claims were characterized as overblown and rarely penciled out for host cities. Without a clear funding plan, a full look at opportunity costs, or an explanation of the City's long-term financial risks, research shows that it's unlikely that Portland will receive the kind of economic and civic improvements that make this level of public investment worth the long-term cost.

"I want to thank all the Portlanders who have showed up at our listening sessions, left emails and voicemails, and testified at our council meetings," Councilor Avalos said. "We pushed this term sheet, and it moved to a better place. But when I considered the proposal in front of me against what East Portlanders have told me they need to see out of their investment, the Moda term sheet didn't move enough. My "no" vote is a message from D1 to our negotiating team: let's get a better deal that's worthy of our city and our constituents."

"I want the Blazers to stay in Portland. But this current term sheet was not about whether the team should stay or leave. That is a false choice. This vote was about whether we want to give up our responsibility as Councilors and sign off on a deal that is not fully transparent," said Councilor Morillo. "Council has budget, legislative, and oversight powers. Before committing nearly $400 million of public dollars, we should know where that money comes from, what Portlanders give up for it, and what return the public will receive. We still do not have those answers, and I could not, in good conscience, vote for the term sheet without these protections."

"Portland is in a financial crisis. We just had to close a $170 million budget gap by cutting core services like parks and public safety, and we're on track for more of the same next year." Councilor Green shared after voting no. "I am utterly appalled that given those conditions this Council is ready to hand over $400 million to Tom Dundon without asking even the most basic questions. Where will the money go? Why is this renovation more expensive than those in other cities? Are these necessary improvements, or just things that Tom Dundon would like because they'll increase his profits? We just don't know. What we do know is that similar deals in other cities consistently fail to deliver the benefits they promise."

Councilor Green continued, "If supporters of this deal had done their homework, they would have seen just how terrible a deal this really is. We all love the Blazers and want to keep them here, but that does not excuse elected officials from exercising basic fiscal responsibility."

Councilor Koyama Lane read a statement before her vote yesterday to a room full of guests, many holding up signs opposing the "bailouts for billionaires." Koyama Lane said, "Thank you to the public, to the advocates who are here today, who are watching online, who keep showing up again and again. I read every single one of your emails."

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On August 5th, Green and Morillo hosted a webinar on the Economics of Publicly Funded Stadiums with sports economists Victor Matheson and JC Bradbury on the Moda Center renovation.

Watch webinar here