{"id":154662,"date":"2025-08-14T08:14:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T12:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=154662"},"modified":"2025-08-14T08:14:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T12:14:18","slug":"what-the-trail-blazers-sale-means-for-its-future-in-portland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/14\/what-the-trail-blazers-sale-means-for-its-future-in-portland\/","title":{"rendered":"What The Trail Blazers Sale Means For Its Future In Portland"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORTLAND<\/strong> \u2013 The Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> will soon have a new owner<\/a>\u2014but perhaps not a new home. Despite valid concerns about the team’s future in Portland following the sale, the Trail Blazers will remain here for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

What The Trail Blazers Sale Means For Its Future In Portland<\/h2>\n
\"The
Apr 3, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups gestures to his team during the second half against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has reached a tentative agreement to buy the franchise from Paul Allen\u2019s estate, according to Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico.<\/em><\/p>\n

The buying group also includes Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Portland-based Sheel Tyle, co-CEO of Collective Global. These investors, sources said, intend to keep the team in Portland.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Hurricanes confirmed the deal\u2019s progress. Dundon \u201cis in the process of buying the Portland Trailblazers and is excited about the opportunity,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Fear of a Move<\/h3>\n

The potential sale has stirred anxiety among fans. Some worry a new owner could relocate the team out of the city. Those concerns aren\u2019t unfounded; relocation rumors have followed other small-market NBA teams in similar situations.<\/p>\n

NBA commissioner Adam Silver weighed in on the situation during a July press conference. \u201cIt is our preference that that team remains in Portland,\u201d Silver said<\/a>. He also noted the franchise \u201clikely needs a new arena, so that will be part of the challenge for any new ownership group coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Small-Market Experience<\/h3>\n

For fans tracking the Trail Blazers’ future in Portland, Dundon\u2019s history offers some reassurance. The Hurricanes play in Raleigh, North Carolina\u2014a small market by professional sports standards. Despite living in Texas, Dundon has shown no interest in moving the NHL franchise.<\/p>\n

That precedent matters. His stewardship of the Hurricanes suggests he understands the value of maintaining a strong local identity, even when market size limits revenue opportunities.<\/p>\n

Portland, like Raleigh, thrives on a deeply loyal fan base. Keeping that connection intact would be vital to both on-court success and financial stability.<\/p>\n

The Path Forward<\/h3>\n

The sale still awaits final approval from the NBA\u2019s Board of Governors. It was revealed in a statement by the league that the sale will close quickly. The early signals\u2014Dundon\u2019s investment team, his small-market history, and the league\u2019s public stance\u2014point toward stability rather than upheaval.<\/p>\n

If Dundon\u2019s past is any guide, Portland\u2019s fans might soon have new owners who understand both the economics and the emotion of keeping the Blazers right where they belong.<\/p>\n

PORTLAND \u2013 The Portland Trail Blazers will soon have a new owner\u2014but perhaps not a new home. Despite valid concerns about the team’s future in Portland following the sale, the Trail Blazers will remain here for the foreseeable future. What The Trail Blazers Sale Means For Its Future In Portland Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":154669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,3,23],"tags":[4815,49619],"class_list":["post-154662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-news","category-trailblazers","tag-portland","tag-team-ownership"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154662"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154671,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154662\/revisions\/154671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}