Keep the Blazers.
Secure the promise.

Three agreements to keep aligned

Ownership is valuable but takeover has conditions

The City owns the arena, but certain team subleases and lender rights survive operator failure. Arena Operating Lease §12.2.6 protects a team tenancy at 110% of variable direct game costs in the specified takeover scenario. That payment does not cover all fixed operations or capital replacement. City closure and tenancy-termination elections can also affect the Exclusive Site Agreement.

Existing protections should be preserved: §6.1.1 protects public fee title from subordination; §6.1.3 provides lender cure/replacement machinery; §13.4.5 limits City liability. The direct franchise covenant can survive operator termination, subject to specified exceptions. A credible alternative needs a cash-flow model using both retained income and surviving duties.

The Exclusive Site Agreement §4.5 TBI backstop is a narrow secondary corporate obligation for the specified City contribution after six months of nonpayment. It is useful, but is not a general owner/parent guarantee. NBA-approved ownership changes, lease assumptions and the buyer’s actual credit support must be checked separately.

Sources: Arena Operating Lease approval exhibit · Exclusive Site Agreement approval exhibit

Insurance and league rules already have legal machinery

Arena Operating Lease §7.3 includes a termination route when casualty exceeds 50% of replacement value; it is not solely a last-years exception. Existing earthquake and flood insurance requirements are meaningful—$250 million and $100 million respectively—but policy terms, deductibles, proceeds and replacement costs determine protection. Public debt may remain even if rebuilding is not viable.

The lease already preserves interim judicial relief (§14.7) and provides a binding equitable-adjustment process for NBA-rule conflicts (§18.26). Arbitration is in Portland, with AAA administration specified through New York; describing every dispute as shipped to New York overstates the clause. Improve actual remedies and secure necessary NBA acknowledgment rather than deleting protection on a mistaken premise.

Sources: Arena Operating Lease approval exhibit · Exclusive Site Agreement approval exhibit

Avoid false certainty

The NBA has authorized exploration of expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas; this is not the same as awarding teams or permanently removing those markets from relocation discussions. Relocation requires league approval and brings significant commercial and practical questions. Public bargaining should examine evidence and costs rather than assign an unsupported zero probability.

Sources: NBA expansion announcement

The franchise commitment to require

• Directly bind the actual franchise through construction and the agreed operating period.
• Cover operator failure and lender replacement without accidentally ending the stay covenant.
• Define permitted temporary games and the return obligation.
• Document reasonable damages, injunction rights and security; distinguish a breach remedy from a purchased exit option.
• Align public debt, rent, term and insurance treatment.