Dear Commissioner Silver:
Portland has had its share of nicknames over the years. Stumptown, the City of Roses, and most famously “Rip City.” Those words mean something around here. The Portland Trail Blazers are more than a part of our history – they are a part of our future.
You can tell a lot about a community by where people get their joy from, and for Portland, sports are a big, enthusiastic part of that joy. It’s what it feels like to give something your all, and win. Like any athlete knows, it’s not a stroke of luck. One shot, one shining moment, is the culmination of hours, days, weeks and years of work. And, something you can’t measure: grit. In Portland, we have a lot of that. This town has an intrepid and unapologetically innovative work ethic, and an unequivocal love of dreaming big. Win or lose, we always aim higher. That’s probably why Portlanders and our neighbors across the state are some of the most avid fans you’ll find anywhere. That fan base runs deep, and win or lose, all eyes are on the Blazers. That commitment is bigger than any one game – it's our legacy and it’s personal.
That’s why we’re writing to let you know we heard you loud and clear earlier this summer when you said you wanted to keep the Blazers in Portland under new ownership and made it clear that our arena isn’t up to snuff. The Blazers are in our DNA, and at the center of what makes this community so special. We mean that literally. The Moda Center sits near the middle of the city, within reach of every corner. That’s by design, and we want to keep it that way. We also want to be loud and clear that as the Governor of Oregon and Mayor of Portland, we fully support renovating the Moda Center to become a point of pride for the Blazers and for our city. We are prepared to explore the public-private partnerships needed to make it happen.
We look forward to working with you and the new owner to bring forward the next chapter, for the long haul.
Sincerely,
Governor Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson