The Portland Trail Blazers business is up for sale.
Part of the job description for a commissioner in any of the big league sports is to create a problem where none exists. National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver is navigating through some choppy seas with the league’s Portland Trail Blazers franchise. The business, which has been put up for sale by the Paul Allen estate, is available. While no potential owner has surfaced publicly that is not stopping Silver from putting the franchise into the stadium-arena game. Silver is warning Portland and Oregon politicians that they better find money for a new arena or the Trail Blazers’ business may vanish. “It’s the league’s preference that that team remains in Portland. We’ve had great success in Portland over the years. I don’t have a specific update on the process, but I know it is underway, and I know there are groups that are actively engaged with the estate and have demonstrated interest in that team,” Silver said. “I’d say one of the factors there is the City of Portland likely needs a new arena, so that will be part of the challenge for any new ownership group coming in, but it will certainly be our preference that the team remain in Portland.”
The City of Portland does not have any plans to build a new arena to replace the city’s 30-year-old arena. A 30-year-old venue is considered antiquated in this day and age unless it has undergone the necessary renovations that create additional revenue opportunities. It is also difficult for Portland and Oregon politicians to plan a new venue without an owner’s input. But Oregon politicians have put aside $800 million in taxpayers money to build a Major League Baseball Portland stadium for a team that does not exist. Silver has done his job. Portland better produce a venue or else.
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The Portland Trail Blazers franchise once held the NBA record for most consecutive sell-out games, with a streak of 814 home games from April 9, 1977, to November 16, 1995.
