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Rip City, Not Rip Off
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The evidence library

Every claim on this site traces to a document

Contracts, statutes, the City’s own studies, and disclosed models — organized by the question you’re asking. Start anywhere; every page carries its own sources.

If you read three pages: the Public Balance Sheet (who pays, who collects) → the City’s Draft, Scored (what’s on the table) → the Fair-Deal Terms (what to demand instead).

Money & revenue

Who pays for the building, and who keeps what it earns.

Renovation costs

What the work actually costs, and how much of it is repair versus revenue upgrades.

Economic impact

What the headline claims dissolve into when you read the study they cite.

Relocation leverage

What leaving would actually cost, and what protections belong in writing.

Comparable deals

What every peer city negotiated — and the market test Portland hasn’t run.

History & the record

How the public’s stake was built — and what officials have already admitted.

Source documents

The primary records — read them yourself.

How these numbers fit together
$253MWhat the City’s own consultant priced the full renovation scope at, in today’s dollars. One-time cost. Verified
The same scope, escalated and repeated over 20 years: $505M. Inside it: ~$164M genuine repair, ~$341M revenue-generating upgrades.
$573MThe public construction budget in the July 17 draft: State $365M + City $120M + County $88M. One-time, nominal. Verified
This is the current number. The earlier “$600M ask” you may have seen was the floated figure this draft replaced.
~$99MEverything the public is priced to receive back across the 20-year lease: the $3M-a-year payment, growing 5% a year. 20-year total. Calculated
$1.02–1.11BThe all-in public commitment over 20 years once bonds and debt service, the City and County shares, and future arena spending are counted. Modeled
The balance sheet’s ~$850M–1B modeled core sits inside this range.
~$2.5BWhat the building hands the operator over the 20-year lease (~$100M+ a year), from an arena rented for $1 a year. Modeled
Not the $2.5M-per-year maintenance reserve — that is a separate recommended term.
$1.1–1.2BWhat a market-standard package would return the public over 20 years, priced line by line against 17 peer deals. Calculated
$4.25BWhat the franchise sold for in 2026. Verified

Verified primary document · Calculated arithmetic from verified inputs · Modeled assumptions disclosed & adjustable. Every line’s paper trail: the Public Balance Sheet.

Each page in the library carries its own sources and method; bridge-lease citations (§) are to the executed 2024 documents under Ordinance 191857.