Portland residents want the Trail Blazers to stay, but most aren't willing to spend public money to make it happen.

That's the broad finding from the city's online survey and park pop-up sessions on the proposed Moda Center renovation, which the City Council reviewed at a work session June 24.

The survey, which closed June 18, found that while respondents broadly favored keeping the team in Portland, opposition to using public money for the arena makeover outweighed support, the Portland Mercury reported. The city has not released exact response counts or percentages.

Councilors held pop-up listening sessions at eight parks across all four districts on June 13, and June 14, offering popsicles and face-to-face conversation about two questions: how should the city invest in the Moda Center, and what community benefits should a new Blazers lease include?

The city-owned arena is roughly 31 years old, draws 1.5 million visitors to 150 events annually, and generates what the city calls $600 million in local economic activity. The proposed renovation would cost roughly $600 million.

The funding stack: $365 million in state bonds, approximately $88 million from Multnomah County, and $120 million from the city under Mayor Keith Wilson's plan.

Wilson has also committed an additional $280 million in operating expenses over 20 years, pushing the total public subsidy close to $900 million, per the Oregonian's tally of the combined commitments.

Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon, who led the team's $4.25 billion purchase in March, told the Portland Metro Chamber's annual meeting on June 24 that he has no plans to contribute private dollars. "It feels like we're making a pretty big investment by staying here," Dundon said.

Several councilors pushed back hard. Councilor Candace Avalos said she would have difficulty approving public money without a private investment from the team's owners. Councilor Angelita Morillo called the options "shaky at best and fiscally irresponsible at worst." District 3 Councilor Steve Novick questioned whether the city's existing lease agreement, which requires the team to maintain the arena in "first-class" condition, could entitle Portland to demand the full renovation cost from the Blazers. He requested a legal opinion from the city attorney's office.

Councilor Mitch Green criticized Wilson's pre-session newsletter, which had accused unnamed councilors of trying to "boost re-election campaigns" and called a prominent critic a "Brooklyn-based techbro."

About 50 protesters gathered outside the Moda Center during the chamber event, holding signs reading "No bailouts for billionaires." Roughly 800 people attended the chamber meeting, the largest in the organization's history.

The 12-member City Council must approve any financial commitment and new lease terms. A vote on a term sheet is scheduled for Wednesday, August 12. The final lease vote is due no later than December 17, with the state's bonding authority expiring in January 2027. Wednesday, July 22, is the last date the council could refer a public vote on city funding to the November ballot. Councilors Green and Novick have expressed interest in that option.

More work sessions are expected before the August 12 vote.