If you voted for the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund, did you want the money to get hijacked to subsidize a Texas billionaire’s wet dream to own the Portland Trailblazers.

The Fund’s 1% tax on retail sales of companies that make a billion dollars or more has generated $1.6 billion. Portland’s city leaders are considering diverting $75 million from the Fund for renovations and ongoing maintenance at the Moda Center as part of the deal to keep the Blazers here following their purchase by billionaire Tom Dundon and his investment group. 

 “This is going to be a very complex high wire act and high winds for city officials and politicians,” said Portland sports commentator John Canzano. “And you have Tom Dundon down below going hey wait a minute. I didn’t buy this franchise to play in an old building.”

Well, wait a minute. If Dundon doesn’t want his team playing in an old building, put some money into fixing it up, just as other NBA team owners have invested heavily in upgrading existing venues to maximize revenue streams. 

“The prevailing economic wisdom is that, generally speaking, the economic impact, measured in jobs and taxes, does not cover the average public investment,” according to Judith Grant Long, an associate professor of sports management and urban planning at the University of Michigan who has studied the issue of taxpayer subsidies for sports teams. Reams of peer-reviewed research show that stadium and arena investments cost more than their economic benefits.

“Where are our city’s priorities, anyway?”

The news is full of stories about Portland’s tight finances, driven by declining tax revenues, inflation, and expiring pandemic-era funds.

Mayor Keith Wilson is proposing an $8.5 billion budget and job cuts for fiscal year 2026-27 to bridge a record $160 million shortfall in the general fund. And Wilson is already proposing transferring $27 million in interest earned by the Clean Energy Fund to close the city’s financial gap.

But the city can spare $75 million from the Fund to help enrich Tom Dundon and his buddies?

If they follow the practices of other NBA team owners, they will one day turn around and make big bucks selling the Blazers. The payoffs for other buyers of NBA teams who have subsequently sold their teams have been eye watering.

Jerry Buss bought the LA Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million. In June 2025, his family agreed to sell controlling interest to Mark Walter, a minority owner since 2021 and owner of the L.A. Dodgers, for $10 billion. Mark Cuban purchased a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks from H. Ross Perot Jr. in January 2000 for $285 million. Cuban sold a majority interest in the team to Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont of the Adelson family casino empire for $3.5 billion in 2023.

So don’t worry about Dundon. He’ll be fine.