Rip City, Not Rip Off · ripcitynotripoff.com
Why relocation is not a unilateral threat
Four reasons, in plain English. Nobody can promise the team will never move. The evidence does show that relocation requires league approval, carries major costs, and is constrained by signed agreements — so Council should price the risk, not rush because of it.
1
The owner cannot move unilaterally
- Relocation requires a vote of the other 29 owners under the league’s own rules (NBA Constitution, Article 7) — it is not the owner’s call alone.
- The last team that tried — the Kings, to Seattle — was voted down 22–8.
- A relocation applicant would still need to persuade the league that moving is preferable to remaining in an established NBA market.
2
Leaving would cost him a fortune
- A league-set relocation fee, plus years of litigation with the City (which can force him to stay — see #3).
- He’d walk away from the proposed ~$365M state-backed renovation and would need a replacement arena and public package elsewhere.
- His group just paid ~$4.25 billion for the Blazers as a Portland-based business. Relocation would put that investment through an uncertain league, venue, and market process.
3
The signed lease locks him in
- The contract bars relocating home games, and if he tried, a court can order the team to stay — specific performance, not just a fine (Site Agreement §1.3, §4.2).
- He can’t even end the lease early, the promise binds any buyer, and it runs through at least 2030 (his option to 2035) — and the team already has a fee-free backup arena across the plaza (Memorial Coliseum).
- Meanwhile the public owns the land and the building, and collects a 6% fee on every ticket.
4
No superior destination has been demonstrated
- The league has not approved a relocation destination for the Blazers.
- Any alternative market would need an NBA-ready venue, a durable public package, corporate support, media value, and approval from other owners.
- No public evidence currently identifies a destination with a better complete package than remaining in Portland.
Portland has leverage. Use it carefully.
The current agreements run through at least 2030, relocation requires league approval, and a move would carry substantial costs and uncertainty. Portland can negotiate real relocation security without pretending the risk is either zero or immediate.