Canzano: Trail Blazers under new ownership
New owner MUST learn from the past.
Slap a sign on the side of Moda Center today. Shout it to the heavens like one of those strip-mall mattress stores. Portland’s NBA franchise has finally been sold, and the mood is shifting at One Center Court.
“Under New Ownership” is sweet music, isn’t it?
Hearts will swell. Minds will dream. Fans will support the Trail Blazers, pending the approval of the sale by the league’s other owners, of course. A Dallas businessman named Tom Dundon is the new majority owner.
Sales price: ~$4.25 billion.
Dundon was born in New York and grew up in Texas. He attended college at SMU, joined a fraternity, and graduated with a degree in economics. He dabbled in restaurants, but made his initial fortune in subprime auto financing, then parlayed that into an investment portfolio that includes a 33-story building in Texas, miles of real estate, and now, a couple of professional sports franchises.
Did I mention the guy loves pickleball?
Dundon’s investment firm has gone big into pickleball. It owns the largest online pickleball retail site in the world and has waded chest-deep into leagues and events. Oh, and Dundon also owns the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL, which is only to say he understands and embraces the challenges (and maybe opportunities) that a small-market pro sports franchise presents.
Last year, Dundon signed a 20-year lease extension in Raleigh. It gave Dundon the right to develop the vacant land and parking lots around the team’s arena into an $800 million mixed-use development. There are plans for retail shops, office space, housing, a hotel, and a 4,000-seat indoor music venue.
“DUNDON BUYS TRAIL BLAZERS” is today’s headline.
This sale, however, looks suspiciously like a giant real estate play by a guy who understands that business very well. The basketball franchise needs someone to love it and care for it. It deserves a stakeholder. But the area around Moda Center is starving for development and some love itself.
Nearly 20 years ago, I sat with Blazers executives in a conference room. They unrolled a massive map of the Rose Quarter on the table in front of me and highlighted all the vacant lots and empty buildings.