Peer Arena Deals
in the Last Decade
Seventeen peer arena deals since 2013 — NBA, NHL, and NBA-ready public arenas. Movement, July 17: the City’s first draft term sheet adds a $3M/yr property-tax offset and a non-relocation agreement with specific performance and clawback; the economics columns below remain open. The draft, scored →
Email your city councilors now →Seventeen peer arena deals since 2013 — NBA, NHL, and NBA-ready public buildings. Portland’s draft is the only one with zero required private capital and zero rent.
18–52% Calculated — the private share of renovation capital peer ownerships paid, per the State’s own July 9 comparables summary.
Every term the campaign asks for exists in a signed deal below — most of them signed by this same ownership in Raleigh.
How these numbers fit together
The same scope, escalated and repeated over 20 years: $505M. Inside it: ~$164M genuine repair, ~$341M revenue-generating upgrades.
This is the current number. The earlier “$600M ask” you may have seen was the floated figure this draft replaced.
The balance sheet’s ~$850M–1B modeled core sits inside this range.
Not the $2.5M-per-year maintenance reserve — that is a separate recommended term.
Verified primary document · Calculated arithmetic from verified inputs · Modeled assumptions disclosed & adjustable. Every line’s paper trail: the Public Balance Sheet.
Renovation Projects: The Real Comparisons to Moda Center
What peer NBA/NHL cities paid to renovate or redevelop publicly-owned arenas, sorted by cost; Seattle is a full redevelopment under a historic roof.
(excluding Portland)
floated ask
(renovation peers)
private share
Excluding Seattle's outlier rebuild, the peer average is about $409M — the earlier floated $600M ask ran roughly 20% above the all-peer average, at 0% private capital.
The PFM summary the state surfaced July 9 books peer renovations at 18–52% private capital and records Portland’s structure as “Team: Cost overruns” — 0% base private capital. It also documents peer rent of $1–2M/yr, Orlando’s naming-and-suite share, and Indiana’s ~$750M early-termination payment. What the state’s summary shows →
One discrepancy, flagged: the state’s summary lists Cleveland’s 2019 renovation as 62% public / 38% private; contemporaneous reporting and the venue’s opening materials say the Cavaliers funded $115M of the $185M — 62.2% private. This page keeps the sourced figure; the state’s workpapers are a records target.
The City's own study already answered this
The City commissioned Venue Solutions Group in 2024. Its study — obtained by public records request, published in full — prices today's full scope at ~$253M and the 20-year plan at ~$505M; the earlier floated $600M ask exceeded it. Before committing $1.02–$1.11 billion over 20 years, Council should reconcile its own study to its own ask. Read the reconciliation →
Net Public Exposure: What the Public Actually Pays
This view subtracts contractually identifiable public returns — rent, capital funds, ticket surcharges — from gross subsidy.
Source: Bradbury, John, Dennis Coates, and Brad Humphreys. US Major-League Sports Stadium and Arena Construction Costs (1909-2027). ICPSR, 2023. Used under CC BY 4.0; analysis by Rip City Not Rip Off. Peer net-offset notes derive from the records cited in the deal table below.
Methodology note
Confirmed net public exposure equals public capital or financing exposure minus directly identifiable public-dollar returns. Soft promises — impact claims, adjacent development, naming-rights value, relocation penalties, land rights — are not monetized unless the public holds a priced claim. Older ICPSR rows stay gross-only until lease-return terms are source-confirmed: upper-bound exposure, not audited net subsidy. Dollar bases differ: ICPSR historical rows use 2020-adjusted dollars; current peer-deal rows use the nominal figures disclosed in the cited records. A screening layer, not a substitute for the lease documents.
Where Portland Sits in the National Subsidy Record
Public subsidies are common; the responsible benchmark is what the public gets back for the money.
Source: the same ICPSR construction-cost dataset cited above, used under CC BY 4.0; analysis by Rip City Not Rip Off.
Methodology note
Filtered from the Stata file: U.S. NBA/NHL arenas, 1990-present, cost fields present. Public share uses pubpct100; tooltip dollars are 2020-adjusted. Portland markers are exposure scenarios against the earlier floated $600M ask, not ICPSR entries. openICPSR distributes the material as deposited, unreviewed. Construction-cost context only.
All Peer Deals: The Full Picture
Peer arena deals since 2013: ownership, project type, true public cost, revenue return, relocation protection, and lease terms. Renovation rows are the closest comparisons.
Funding bar: gold = private (owner) share · red = zero private. * Salt Lake City's $4B+ is adjacent private district development, not arena capital.
| Deal | Cost | Public $ | Private $ | Private % | True Public Cost | Public Protections |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Portland Trail Blazers
SB 1501
Renovation
Public-Owned
Moda Center · Enabling law Mar 2026 · Council vote Aug 12 · Construction 2027
|
$600M | $573M | $0 | 0% | $1.02B–$1.11B |
✗ No rent · ✗ No revenue sharing ✗ No relocation penalty · ✗ No surcharge 20-yr lease (shortest of any deal) |
|
Philadelphia 76ers
New Build
Private-Owned
New South Philly Arena · Announced 2025 · Target 2030
|
$1.5B | $0 | $1.5B | 100% | $0 | N/A — team owns arena |
|
LA Clippers
New Build
Private-Owned
Intuit Dome · Deal ~2017–2021 · Opened 2024
|
$2B+ | $0 | $2B+ | 100% | $0 | N/A — team owns arena. |
|
Golden State Warriors
New Build
Private-Owned
Chase Center · Deal ~2012–2014 · Opened 2019
|
$1.4B | $0 | $1.4B | 100% | $0 | N/A — team owns arena. |
|
Seattle Kraken / Storm
Redevelopment
Public-Owned
Climate Pledge Arena · Opened 2021 · City-owned
|
$1.15B | $0 | $1.15B | 100% | $0 |
✓ Privately financed by OVG; overruns, operations, and maintenance on OVG 39-yr lease + two 8-yr options. City receives baseline rent/tax guarantees and excess revenue share. |
|
Cleveland Cavaliers
Renovation
Public-Owned
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse · Deal 2017 · Completed 2019
|
$185M | $70M | $115M | 62.2% | $70M |
Owner absorbed all overruns. Long-term lease. Most comparable to Moda. |
|
Detroit Pistons
New Build (Shared NHL)
Public-Owned
Little Caesars Arena · Deal 2013 · Opened 2017
|
$862.9Marena | ~$324M+ $34.5M | ~$539M | ~60% | ~$358.6M |
Long-term lease. Shared with Red Wings. Public: ~$324M base + $34.5M later Pistons-specific bonds. |
|
Sacramento Kings
New Build
Public-Owned
Golden 1 Center · Deal 2014 · Opened 2016
|
$534.6M | $255M | $279.6M | 52.3% | $255M |
✓ 35-yr non-relocation lease · team absorbed overruns ✓ Hard cost cap · CAA Icon as owner’s rep for the public Team keeps Golden 1 naming (~$120M/20 yrs). |
|
Milwaukee Bucks
New Build
Public-Owned
Fiserv Forum · Deal 2015 · Opened 2018
|
$524M | $250M | $274M | 52.3% | ~$310M |
✓ $2/ticket surcharge (~$60M over 30 yrs) ✓ 30-yr non-relocation clause · 30-yr lease CAA Icon represented BUCKS (team side). |
|
San Antonio Spurs
New Build + District
Public-Owned
New downtown arena · Approved Nov 2025 · Post-2029
|
$1.3B | $800M | $500M | 38.5% | Net ~$565M |
✓ $4M/yr rent with 2% escalator + $2.5M/yr community benefits (~$235M/30 yrs) ✓ 30-yr non-relocation · 30-yr lease $1.4B private surrounding development. Voter-approved. |
|
Washington D.C.
Renovation
Public-Owned
Capital One Arena · Deal 2024 · Completing 2027
|
$800M | $515M | $285M | 35.6% | Net ~$463M |
✓ $1.5–$2.3M/yr lease through 2050 ✓ Lease options to 2070 · Owner absorbs overruns CAA Icon is PROJECT MANAGER — same firm on Blazers' side. |
|
Atlanta Hawks
Renovation
Public-Owned
State Farm Arena · Deal 2016 · Completed 2018
|
$192.5M | $142.5M | $50M+ | 26%+ | $142.5M |
Owner absorbed all overruns above $192.5M. Lease through 2046. City-owned. |
|
Indianapolis Pacers
Renovation
Public-Owned
Gainbridge Fieldhouse · ~2020–2025 · Ongoing
|
~$360M | ~$295M | ~$65M | 18% | ~$295M |
Long-term lease continuation. Capital Improvement Board + city funded 82%. |
|
Orlando Magic
New Build
Public-Owned
Kia Center (Amway Center) · Deal 2006 · Opened 2010
|
~$452M | ~$393M | ~$59M | ~13% | Net ~$363M |
✓ $1M/yr rent (~$30M/30 yrs) · city keeps ALL non-Magic event revenue ✓ City shares naming-rights + suite revenue (~$1.75M/yr) · 30-yr lease · city-operated 2006 Sentinel headline called it a “fair deal.” |
|
Charlotte Hornets
Renovation + Practice
Public-Owned
Spectrum Center · Approved 2022 · Completed 2025
|
$245Marena | $245Marena | Overrunsonly | ~0% | ~$277M |
✓ $2M/yr rent + $1.1M/yr capital fund (~$32M thru 2045) Lease through 2045. Separate $60M city grant for a standalone practice facility. |
|
OKC Thunder
New Build
Public-Owned
New downtown arena · Approved 2023 · Opening ~2029
|
$900M | $850M | $50M | 5.6% | Net ~$764M–$784M |
✓ $58K/game rent + 3% escalator years 2–5, later CPI-capped increases ✓ Non-relocation penalty (~$1B first 5 yrs, declining across the term) · 25-yr lease through ~2053 CAA Icon negotiated FOR THE PUBLIC. Strongest protections. |
|
Memphis Grizzlies
Renovation
Public-Owned
FedEx Forum · 2024–2025 · Ongoing
|
$550M | $550M | $0 | 0% | $550M |
Lease extensions beyond 2029. 100% public via TN state bonds + local taxes. |
|
Salt Lake City Jazz
Renovation + District
Hybrid
Delta Center · Approved 2024 · 2025+
|
$525Marena | $525M | $4B+district | * | $525M+ |
✓ Ticket-fee public-benefits fund · 0.5% district sales tax ✓ $4B+ private surrounding development Dual NBA/NHL. City-owned. |
See remaining 11 deals, card by card ▾
Portland's True Cost
$573M in public principal balloons to $1.02B–$1.11B over 20 years once interest and operations are counted — while the Trail Blazers / Tom Dundon put in $0.
How we get to $1.02B–$1.11B ▾
| Source | Principal | Ongoing | Duration | True Cost (w/ interest & ops) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State of Oregon (SB 1501 bonds) | $365M | Rose Quarter income tax diversion (~$72M rising to ~$83M per budget cycle) | 20 years | $531M–$623M |
| City of Portland (upfront) | $120M | — | One-time | $120M |
| City of Portland (operations) | — | $14M/yr | 20 years | $280M |
| Multnomah County | $88M | — | One-time | $88M |
| Trail Blazers / Tom Dundon | $0 | $0 | — | $0 |
| TOTAL PUBLIC COMMITMENT | $573M | $14M/yr + bond service | 20 years | $1.02B–$1.11B |
Sources: Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office · Mayor Wilson testimony to Oregon Legislature · OPB · portland.gov · KGW public records
CAA Icon: Same Firm, Opposite Sides
CAA Icon worked for the PUBLIC in Sacramento (hard cost cap, owner’s-rep oversight) and in OKC (rent escalators, revenue sharing, OKC’s ~$1B early-years relocation penalty), and as Washington D.C.’s project manager secured lease payments through 2050. In Portland the same firm is on the BLAZERS’ side — where none of those protections exist.
The pattern is clear
Four peer deals — the 76ers, Clippers, Warriors, and Seattle's redevelopment — were funded entirely with private capital. Every other deal returned ownership contributions, rent, revenue sharing, or hard protections. Portland's SB 1501 is the only one whose public record shows neither — on a true 20-year public cost of $1.02–$1.11 billion.
Email Portland City Council →