Tom Dundon's Cheapness Hit's a New Low (Or High?) | Rachel Nichols and Chris Mannix

[00:00:00]We have had some developments in the ongoing saga with the Portland Trailblazers. So, everyone understands the situation. Uh, the team is looking for $600 million of public funding from the state, county, and the city to remodel the Modus Center, which is 30 years old and in my opinion, not good.

[00:00:18]Uh, last week in Las Vegas, Adam Silver set off some alarms when he said that the negotiations between the city and the team have gone off track a bit. His phrase, off track. Uh this week we have seen some reporting from Jason Quick of The Athletic that quotes a team source saying they are quote very far apart end quote on an agreement on a deal like this. Um in a term sheet the city sent over to the Blazers on Friday, they asked for $3 million annually for a property tax offset which would escalate over time. In addition, the deal would require the Blazers to hire union workers and set caps on project cost overruns. The Blazers, who are now led by Tom Dundan, who is making an impact across the NBA for good and for bad, have called that term sheet a non-starter. So, put yourselves in the shoes of Oregonians everywhere, of Portlandites, of the many people that have sported the Blazers over the years.

[00:01:10]How nervous would you be about the state of the Blazers in Portland?

[00:01:14]>> I'd be pretty nervous. And I would be nervous not just from these latest developments, but the national media and the national fans, I think, have really started to have the temperature raise here in Portland. They've been reporting on this. Uh our former LA colleague Bill Orum has been really sounding the alarm on this for months. Like it just hasn't looked good. And one of the big issues with this arena is I think a little bit of a misunderstanding. Uh the city owns the arena. Uh, and there are a lot of people out there that like, hey, if someone else own you were renting an apartment and they wanted you to completely remodel it. You wouldn't do that. You would think that was unfair.

[00:01:49]The owner should remodel it. The way the city owns the arena is that it was willed was willed or gifted. I don't know how to say it.

[00:01:58]>> Jody Allen, the the Allen family, >> it was gifted to the city as part of the sort of transition from the late Paul Allen's ownership to get to this point to sell the team and everything for a dollar. That sounds great on principle, but let me give you an example, and this is how I've been trying to explain people how I think of it. Is if you are a rich guy and you decide, man, I love exotic animals. I'm going to open a zoo.

[00:02:25]All the kids in the in the neighborhood can come to my zoo. All the kids in town can come to my zoo. Uh, I'm gonna charge, so I'm gonna make money off of of these animals. But like, I'm rich. I can afford to bring all these animals here and run a business that that charges people for getting to see a cool thing, right? Everyone loves the elephant. They want to see the elephant.

[00:02:45]If the owner of the zoo turns to one of the parents one day and says, "I am gifting you this elephant for a dollar."

[00:02:52]The family can't handle that. They can't pay the $100,000 plus dollars it takes a year to care and feeding of an elephant.

[00:03:02]might not be that exact figure, but it's more expensive than you think. I promise. Um, it's not a gift. I'm sorry. I don't know how this came to happen and who agreed to it. And often sometimes you get a couple city councilors who decide this will look good in a photo um, and might not be acting in the best interest of the city. But the fact that the quote city owns the building is something that happened to them. And it's not like they >> think it's that like I mean I kind of push back a little bit on that and that an elephant is basically useless. At least a a arena is generating revenue for you.

[00:03:35]>> I mean, the elephant generates revenue if you charge people to see it. That's how the elephant got there in the first place.

[00:03:42]>> No, there's no guarantees anyone's going to see an elephant. The >> they're already paying to see the elephant from the rich guy. I get it. I get it.

[00:03:47]>> Don't mess with my analogies. My analogies are excellent.

[00:03:50]>> You're comparing the modus center to a wild elephant is what you're doing right now.

[00:03:54]>> I mean, isn't white elephant party isn't >> I think the center dump quite frankly.

[00:03:57]Like, I think it's one of >> I like the energy there. I feel like Portland fans are really >> It's not the fans. I'm talking about the building. I've been there many times.

[00:04:03]>> The building itself is is old and needs a repair.

[00:04:06]>> It really needs to be torn down.

[00:04:07]>> Here's the bottom line. No matter who you think is right or wrong or whatever, >> citizens should not be paying for sports stadiums, arenas, teams, especially now that they're all owned by billionaires.

[00:04:21]There may have been a time where the guy who owned the team was just a little bit richer than all the other rich people in town. When Jerry Bus bought the Lakers, he was a very successful commercial real estate developer. He was not a billionaire and never was a billionaire.

[00:04:34]When you have the gap in wealth between today's sports owners and how most people live day-to-day, it is obscene that we let any city, any municipality, any state, I believe the state of California has a law against this of the city paying for the arena. Now, obviously, we do tax supplements and infrastructure and whatever, but in terms of the big big costs, I I'm sorry.

[00:05:00]I I think it is shameful and I think the fact that the Blazers brass, and by that I mean the owner, the new owner who is a billionaire, is trying to hold the city hostage. He bought into the team. You didn't, you knew all the circumstances.

[00:05:14]If you didn't want to be in Portland, why'd you buy a team in Portland?

[00:05:18]>> And the NBA, I think, bears some responsibility for this. There's no there was nothing they made they didn't make sure there was anything in the contract about keeping the team in Portland.

[00:05:27]>> I'd take it a step further. I think the NBA wanted this guy. I think the NBA wanted someone with a history of running a professional franchise and that's what Tom Dundan brun to the table. I don't think they just accepted him. I think they actually wanted him.

[00:05:38]>> Yeah. Well, I think it's going to turn into a PR nightmare.

[00:05:41]>> Well, it already is.

[00:05:42]>> If that if that team leaves if a beloved Northwest US team >> Hey, I've heard this before.

[00:05:47]>> Leaves again something in the Pacific Northwest. I think that is going to be a huge problem for the NBA, which is why you heard overressing.

[00:05:55]>> My biggest issue with Tom Dundan and his team at this point comes from >> like my elephant.

[00:06:00]>> I I'd like the elephant. I don't quite buy the overall analogy. Um the the biggest issue I have with Dundon on this, and this came from the Jason Quick story, is that they're still not willing to reveal what they would use the money for, right? Like they've said they've got like concepts of how they would improve the Motus Center. Like if you are asking for $600 million just like if you were asking for a home >> home repair loan or some kind of uh investment from a bank, you would have to articulate what you are going to use the money for. And I don't think the state, which the state by the way has already signed off on their end of it.

[00:06:33]This is more a county and a city issue here. But if the city and the county want to know what you're going to do with the money, you should be able to send them specs of everything that you were going to do down to the nickel of what you're going to use. I don't blame them for that part of it.

[00:06:48]>> I will say this, so when this initially sort of bubbled up a couple months ago, I don't even remember when it was. Uh I tweeted something about it because I feel very strongly that public money should not go toward billionaire welfare. And I got push back because I pointed out that Oregon, I believe in the preK through 12th grade, is the 47th out of 50 states in the country in education. First of all, the amount of people who are comfortable going on social media and insulting teachers for being greedy is just astounding to me. We have lost some values in this country. And then on top of it, the idea that you are defending billionaires is just beyond me. I don't understand.

[00:07:32]>> Yeah, >> I don't get it.

[00:07:34]>> Yeah, I agree with that part of it.

[00:07:35]>> Nobody should be Nobody should be paying for that. That money, you know where that $600 million could go? I bet there's some teachers who could use it.

[00:07:42]>> I agree. And I think also the clean energy fund is where they're supposedly taking a big chunk out of that. That's something obviously very important nationally, but very important. Oregon, that's a very >> uh pro- environment uh state. So, I I agree with that. I I do think to bring it full circle, I think if you're from Portland, you're very nervous right now.

[00:08:01]There are some deadlines coming up. I think August 12th there's going to be a vote on some of this funding. I think it has to be voted on overall by the end of the calendar year for it to get appropriated. I may be screwing that up a little bit, but that that's a a deadline there. And to sit there in that room in Vegas last week and to hear Adam Silver, who's generally pretty optimistic about these things, like we'll figure it out. It's going this way, it's going that way. to hear him very succinctly say that this has gone off track and point out that they basically assigned somebody to this in the league office and that person's covering it from day to day. That tells me that the NBA is very nervous about the direction this goes. And that tells me that there is probably a belief in the league office that this team packing up and moving is on the table. Like everybody's kind of like looking around like where would they go? I would look at Nashville. I would look at Nashville as being a a potential >> spot. Will the ownership group in Memphis?

[00:08:53]>> I don't know. I don't know how that would all work, but that's another it's a little tax haven.

[00:08:57]>> There are protected market.

[00:08:58]>> There are Does it cover that though in that that distance? I don't know the answer to that either. But look, there's there's lots of other places, >> three hours away, something like that. I don't know.

[00:09:08]>> A little three-hour elephant ride down the >> elephant ride. Well, either way, Nashville, someplace else.

[00:09:12]>> Yeah, >> I would be anxious if I was in Portland.

[00:09:16]Who would you blame if you were a Blazers fan and the city did not vote to just hand a billionaire $600 million that could be used to help the citizens of this city and county?

[00:09:26]>> Would you blame the public officials or would you blame ownership? I >> I don't think it's it's I think there's a blame pie. I don't think it's one or the other. I don't think it's black or white. I think you would definitely blame the owner, the greedy billionaire, for taking the team out of there because he didn't get exactly what he wanted and I don't get all my money so I'm taking the team and I'm moving to Tennessee or Texas or wherever else. But I would also blame some of the city officials for letting it get to this point uh and allowing as as much as it sucks to put up money like losing the trailblazers would be such a massive loss for the city and the state because they they ain't getting a team back like honestly like I think Seattle from the moment Seattle left I think there was >> it's been talked about >> it's one of the biggest cities >> exactly like Sacramento was going to move there like there has been a push on some level for decades to getting the Seattle supersonics back in Seattle. I do not believe that if the Blazers move, we would be having that conversation. I think they'd be gone forever.

[00:10:20]>> Is that worth $600 million? I'm actually asking.

[00:10:24][snorts] >> I think again, I think it's a question of is it worth the 200 and something million to the county and the city?

[00:10:30]Because the state's already decided. The state's already voted on that Senate bill that's that's done. Is it worth that much to the city and to the county?

[00:10:37]Just because a bunch of elected officials have voted on it doesn't mean >> but I I I think the really what they're arguing over now is the back end [clears throat] is the back end deal. Is this Yeah. Look, I I obviously again the fact that anyone's in this position is just to me scummy. I'm sorry. Like holding fan bases hostage >> and making them take money out of public works, whether that is schools, whether it is road repairs, whether it is clean energy, whether it is any of the other things. And everyone can pick their own issue. This is not a political discussion. Whatever you support, you are going to have less of it because a billionaire who it's like a rounding error to pay some of this stuff just had to squeeze it out of you and couldn't just pay it himself. I I think if you buy a sports team, it is a public trust and you are agreeing I am going to spend some money here because then I get to be the big shot fat cat owner and I'm the one bestowing the Portland Trailblazers on the public. It is not a hostage situation and I think it's I I think it is shameful. I really do.

[00:11:38]>> I I actually don't think that I don't think Tom Dundan bought this team with an intention to move it out. And I just base that on that he bought the Carolina Hurricanes. People thought he was going to move that team. I think I think Dundan and >> for better or worse and a lot of times it's worse, I don't think he gives a bleep about what anybody thinks of him.

[00:11:57]I think he's going to get the deal that he wants and if he doesn't get it, he's going to pick up his team and he's going to leave. He got the deal he wanted in North or in North Carolina. And I think if he doesn't get the deal he wants, he's going to pack up this team and bail.

[00:12:09]>> And I know why that's not against the rules. It's not against the rules because the owners run the NBA. The the fallacy that Adam Silver doesn't have a boss. Adam Silver has 30 bosses. And just like we saw with some of these other league issues, Donald Sterling, etc., etc., There are a lot of people who don't want it turned around on them.

[00:12:27]>> You can't tell me I've got to keep my team in a city. Like what if something catastrophic happens and I need to move it or I want to move it or even if I have great intentions now. So that group of owners is not going to vote for some sort of rule to be in the MBA that like if you buy into a franchise, you have to keep it there or some of these other issues. But again, that's greed, too.

[00:12:47]Thank you. And like I just I I I'm done.

[00:12:50]I'm so sick of it. Like I really am like >> you should have just bought the Pelicans. Nobody would care if they moved.

[00:12:55]>> Wow.

[00:12:55]>> Just bad arena.

[00:12:57]>> Wow. [laughter] >> Bad arena. Not a great NBA market. Like >> wow.

[00:13:03]>> Love the die hards in New Orleans. Not enough of you.

[00:13:05]>> Good food.

[00:13:06]>> Smoothie King Center. Not a big fan of that arena either.