The Portland City Council approved a term sheet on Wednesday guiding the city’s plans for the Moda Center, giving city negotiators a playbook to face off with Portland Trail Blazers ownership.

The nonbinding agreement tips off what are sure to be contentious negotiations with the Blazers’ new ownership group led by Texas billionaire Tom Dundon.

Councilors approved the term sheet by an 8-4 vote after more than four hours of debate. It would give the Trail Blazers $120 million up front, but it also asks the franchise to pay rent for the city-owned basketball arena. Annual rent would begin at $2 million, with a cost-of-living escalator. The Moda Center also hosts the Portland Fire WNBA franchise as well as concerts and other events.

“I think we’re going to have to remodel the arena one way or another,” Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney said. “So how do we get there? Does it include Rip City Management, or does it not?”

The city is willing to make a deal with Trail Blazers, Pirtle-Guiney said, but not any deal.

“We want a reasonable deal in Portland,” she said. “We are scrappy and practical and ready to make it work, but we also will not be taken advantage of.”

Four councilors — Angelita Morillo, Tiffany Koyama Lane, Mitch Green and Candace Avalos — voted against the term sheet.

The city will have to make cuts to parks, homeless services and public safety “because we gave away $400 million to a billionaire,” Morillo said. And the city doesn’t have enough information about potential renovations to the Moda Center to fund them, she added.

“The idea that we would write a blank check of $275 million for undefined expenses without considering if or how the Blazers would contribute is pretty outrageous to me,” she said.

Councilors blocked an amendment proposed by Morillo that would have required a financial report be made to the council at least 15 days before the council votes on any final agreement. The amendment failed in a 6-6 deadlock.

Even councilors who supported the term sheet said they were clear-eyed about the city’s and Trail Blazers’ divergent interests.

“Tom Dundon does not care about our city,” Pirtle-Guiney said. “He does not care about our team, our values or our future. He has made that clear.”

Pirtle-Guiney nevertheless said the city should reinvest in the Moda Center and the surrounding neighborhood, which is undergoing redevelopment spearheaded by Albina Vision Trust.

The city’s approval of its term sheet comes days after Multnomah County’s Board of Commissioners committed up to $101.6 million to Moda Center improvements. The city and county funding would be paired with $365 million in state funds to pay for the approximately $600 million project.

Some constituents in City Council chambers on Wednesday held signs that said, “No Bailouts for Billionaires.” Councilor Olivia Clark, who voted in favor of the term sheet, said that’s not what the vote was about.

“I don’t believe this is a bailout for a billionaire,” Clark said. “This is about taking care of what we have.”

The term sheet is a “reasonable package,” she added.

The nonbinding agreement functions as an initial offer to Trail Blazers management, which has not yet negotiated with the city, according to city officials. Negotiations are expected to commence in coming weeks, with votes on a final agreement in December.

Councilor Sameer Kanal said he supported the term sheet so as not to close the door to negotiations with the Trail Blazers. But, he added, a mutually beneficial agreement will be needed to earn his vote on the final package.

“My vote is available if there is a good deal,” he said. “It is not available if there is a bad one.”

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