Oregon business leaders are breathing a sigh of relief now that it appears the Trail Blazers are staying in Portland — and are seeing the investment in the team as an opportunity to spark economic growth.

“The Portland Trail Blazers are such a key part of this region’s heart and soul,” Angela Wilhelms, president of Oregon Business and Industry, wrote in an email to OPB. “We are enthusiastic about the opportunities the team’s future — a future rooted in Rip City — can bring for the people, the community and the economy.”

Since the NBA team was put on the market in May, fear had been growing that the Blazers are vulnerable to relocation. A move out of Portland could act as a gut punch to a city slow to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s one reason why Wilhelms and other major business leaders, along with civic leaders and former Blazers players, joined an advocacy group dedicated to keeping the team in Oregon. The organization, called Rip City Forever, is also pushing for a public/private partnership to fund either an arena renovation or rebuild, relying in part on taxpayer dollars.

The likely majority owner for the Blazers is Dallas-based investor Tom Dundon, who owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Dundon already has a reputation as a sports investor interested in building entertainment districts. The Oregonian/OregonLive, The Athletic and other outlets have reported that Dundon’s group plans to keep the team in Portland long term.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has publicly suggested that new owners should be prepared to renovate the Moda Center or build a new stadium.

Joth Ricci is a member of Rip City Forever and executive chairman of Oregon fast food chain Burgerville. He called the opportunity to build a new arena — and develop an entertainment district around it — a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

“One of the things we have to recognize in Portland is that we’re competing against cities around the country, if not cities globally, for entertainment, for great sports and great arts,” Ricci said. “And we’re competing for companies to stay.”

A thriving entertainment district with a sports arena as the anchor could help shape the city for the next three decades if done right, Ricci said, and will capitalize on Oregon’s love of basketball at a time when the sport is growing in the state. Portland will welcome a WNBA expansion team, the Fire, in May 2026.

Ricci remembers being a kid, going to Oregon State University basketball games in Corvallis and traveling to Portland for Blazers games.

“Growing up in the window of time that I grew up in Oregon, it was a pretty special time for basketball,” Ricci said. “The Trail Blazers won the world championship in ’77, and for those of us that got to celebrate that moment, I think we all can remember where we were and what we were doing at that time.”

Ricci, who previously served as CEO for Grants Pass-founded coffee chain Dutch Bros, said the new ownership group — with input from the community — can build a similar moment for the next generation of Blazers fans.

Dundon has a track record for taking a mediocre team and turning it around. The Athletic reports that when he took over the Hurricanes, the team had failed to reach the playoffs for nearly a decade. Since he took over, the team has made the playoffs every season.

In terms of developing new arenas, Dundon also has some experience. The Hurricanes had a short-term lease at a publicly-owned arena when he took over as owner. He negotiated a longer-term lease with North Carolina officials and secured some taxpayer money for development.

Research shows that public spending on sports arenas has a muted economic impact. Ricci and other proponents argue that a new arena is just part of the puzzle, and the opportunity to develop in the area will lead to economic returns.

“Portland is a city on the rise, and we are open for business,” Andrew Hoan, president of the Portland Metro Chamber, wrote in an emailed statement to OPB. “This generational investment in Portland’s future will help accelerate our next chapter of economic growth.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/20/portland-trail-blazers-basketball-sports-moda-center-oregon/