Some readers are skeptical of Moda Center funding
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Some of you have strong feelings about a publicly funded Moda remodel. Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images
The Oregon legislature recently approved hundreds of millions in public money to rehab the aging Moda Center, and our readers have some thoughts.
Why it matters: The vote may have cleared the legislature, but the public funding plan faces skepticism from some Axios Portland readers who question its benefits and the state's priorities.
The latest: On Thursday, OPB revealed details of the campaign by lobbyists for the Blazers to get city officials to support money for the revamp.
- City staffers took a trip to North Carolina to see publicly-funded arena renovations, city officials received urging from Nike CEO Elliot Hill to approve money for the renovations and a Blazers lobbyist told a city official that "100% public financing is the only solution."
What they're saying: Albert T. said he'd be fine with Portland spending all the money it wants on Moda, but he fails to see the benefit for folks like him who live hundreds of miles away.
- "Never been to the Moda Center and don't think I ever will," he wrote. "I strongly object to the state spending my taxes on the Moda Center project. Yet another example of the folks in Salem focused on Portlandia at the expense of the rest of the state!"
For Maureen K., it was a matter of priorities.
- "While we lay off teachers? While our roads are full of holes? While a new owner might conceivably move the Blazers to a different city?" she wrote.
One of the stipulations of the funding is that the new owners agree to a 20-year lease of the arena.
Gary S. said he'd rather risk seeing the Blazers play in a different city than spend public money on keeping them around.
- "This sort of blackmail happens all of the time when wealthy sports team owners threaten to leave a city unless they give in to their demands," he wrote. "If the owners and the NBA want to move the team, so be it."
If we are going to drop all this money on a revamped Moda, Robin C. said the restroom experience is due for an upgrade.
- "Bathrooms designed for efficiency and quick exit. Women's rooms should be twice the size of men's," she wrote. "Men's room would benefit from a group urinal."
It wasn't all naysayers, though. Randy M. said he recognizes the inequity in using public money for a team owned by billionaires, but he said the juice was worth the squeeze.
- "The overall impact of having pro sports integrates the entire community better than any other asset, he wrote. "Rich, poor, black, Hispanic, white, doesn't matter. It's a source of pride which everyone can share and support."
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include information about the Blazers' efforts to secure public money for Moda Center renovations.