NBA Rumors: Blazers, Portland Agree to 5-Year Contract Extension of Moda Center Lease

The Portland Trail Blazers and the city of Portland, Oregon, have reportedly agreed to extend the team's lease at Moda Center by five years.

According to Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report, the lease had been set to expire in October 2025, but the extension ensures the Blazers will continue playing at Moda Center into 2030.

Highkin added that the agreement includes an option to extend the lease another five years into 2035 as well.

Per Highkin, the agreement is set to be presented to the Portland City Council next week, at which point it is expected to be approved.

Originally known as the Rose Garden, Moda Center has been home to the Blazers since 1995, meaning the extension will take the venue to at least the 35-year mark as the team's arena.

According to Highkin, the extension is viewed as a "bridge deal" in that the goal is to continue negotiating to eventually reach another agreement that would lead to Moda Center renovations and a development project around the arena.

Blazers president of business operations Dewayne Hankins and Portland mayor Ted Wheeler were reportedly the main players involved in negotiating the extension.

The Trail Blazers were added to the NBA as expansion team in 1970, and after missing the playoffs in their first six seasons, they won their first and only NBA championship in 1977 thanks largely to the play of Hall of Fame center Bill Walton.

Portland has experienced a great deal of success since then, returning to the NBA Finals twice, but it has yet to win another title.

The Blazers reached the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons from 2014 through 2021 behind superstar guard Damian Lillard, but they are now trending toward missing the playoffs for a third straight year.

Portland traded Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks during the offseason, signaling the start of a rebuilding phase.

It could take a couple of years before the Blazers are back in the playoff mix, but their short-term future at Moda Center appears to be secured.