A Portland Trail Blazers executive said Thursday that the threat of litigation is casting a pall over negotiations with the city of Portland on paying for Moda Center renovations.

The Trail Blazers have attacked a provision in their current lease that would allow the city of Portland to sue the team for the cost of renovating the Moda Center if the team were to leave the arena when the lease ends in 2030.

Dewayne Hankins, the Trail Blazers president of business operations, decried the “threat of litigation hanging over these negotiations.”

The provision “has been wielded as a weapon, chilling our negotiations,” Hankins said.

Trail Blazers officials and city councilors held a work session Thursday that functioned as a temperature check on negotiations over arena upgrades. The two sides appeared far apart on any agreement to renovate the nearly 31-year-old Moda Center, which the city took ownership of in 2025.

They couldn’t even agree on whether the Trail Blazers were negotiating.

“It sounds like you have walked away from the table a bit,” Councilor Loretta Smith said.

Zandria Conyers, the Trail Blazers’ general counsel, disputed that characterization.

“We’re still at the table,” she said. “We have not walked away from the table.”

Conyers said the draft term sheet the city has circulated is a “nonstarter.”

“It is just not even a document we can respond to,” she added.

The Trail Blazers’ executives ceded little ground, instead taking a maximalist position in council chambers. Hankins reiterated that the team’s ownership group, led by Tom Dundon, would not agree to spend any money to renovate Moda Center.

“Going forward, in order for this deal to make economic sense, the contribution needs to come from the public sector,” Hankins said.

Hankins said the Trail Blazers should get credit for spending nearly $1 billion in the past 30 years on previous Moda Center upgrades and maintenance — even though that spending came under previous ownership.

Councilor Angelita Morillo, who has been a vocal critic of the Blazers’ recent statements, said the team had “moved the goalposts” after the city published a draft term sheet. She also dismissed the Blazers’ fear of litigation.

“They are only sued if they choose to move the team according to the bridge lease,” Morillo said.

A Trail Blazers representative said they had had discussions with potential architects and contractors to renovate the Moda Center. The team has identified $600 million in needed upgrades.

“We have architects and general contractors that we are excited to get to work with,” Hankins said. “We, in fact, had interviews with the city and state by our sides to have those, to pick those and select those, but until we have the funds to pay those architects, we don’t have plans to show you.”

The Oregon Legislature in its previous session passed a bill to supply $365 million in bond funding for Moda Center upgrades. The city has surveyed voters on potentially spending $120 million on the project. Multnomah County is also weighing its contribution.

The City Council is moving forward with public hearings on Wednesday and Thursday, with a vote on the term sheet to follow on Aug. 12. The council plans to vote on a lease agreement in December before bonds can be issued — if the city and the Trail Blazers can play ball.

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