Moda Center

The original name of the facility was "Rose Garden"; however, the arena was also commonly known as the "Rose Garden Arena" to disambiguate it from the International Rose Test Garden, also located in Portland. The name was chosen both to reflect Portland's reputation as the Rose City,[13] and to reflect the importance to basketball heritage of Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden arenas in Boston and New York City, respectively. When the name was selected, the remainder of the former coliseum grounds were given the name "Rose Quarter".

In 2007, the Trail Blazers and Vulcan announced that they were seeking a corporate partner to grant naming rights for the facility, with the goal of a new name being available for the Blazers' 2008–09 season.[14] In August 2013, the Trail Blazers announced a 10-year deal with Moda Health, an Oregon-based health insurance provider, to rename the arena Moda Center.[15]

The renaming spurred a public outcry and petition by fans and Portlanders who preferred the old name. Portland mayor Charlie Hales initially expressed concern about the name, calling it a "head scratcher".[16]

Moda Center is a precast concrete-framed structure with a roof made up of skeletal steel. The arena structure encloses a total of over 785,000 square feet (72,900 m²), on eight levels, five of which are open to the public. The building height is 140 feet (43 m), from the event floor to the pinnacle of the saddle-shaped roof.[8] The arena includes a 60-by-40-foot (18 m × 12 m) permanent stage, and a 200-by-85-foot (61 m × 26 m) ice rink.[17]

The building is composed of over 48,000 cubic yards (37,000 m³) of concrete, and over 9,700 short tons (8,800 t) of steel. The exterior is composed of over 29,000 square feet (2,700 m²) of glass, 17,500 square feet (1,630 m²) of plaster, 52,000 square feet (4,800 m²) of architectural precast, 39,000 square feet (3,600 m²) of insulation, and 13,654 square feet (1,268.5 m²) of steel louvers.[8][18]

The building, designed by architecture firm Ellerbe Becket, has been criticized by some in Portland's architectural community. A survey of local architects and planners was conducted by the Portland Tribune, and subsequently Moda Center was listed among the five ugliest buildings in the city.[19]

Moda Center at the Rose Quarter

The arena has a total of over 14,000 permanent seats arranged in two bowls. An additional 1540 permanent seats are found in the arena's 70 skyboxes. Over 4,200 portable seats may or may not be installed, depending on the arena's configuration.[17] When configured for basketball, the arena has a capacity of 19,393, and can accommodate a total of up to 20,796 patrons with standing room. Prior to the 1998 NBA season the capacity was reduced to 19,980 from the original 21,485 spectators.[20] When configured for hockey or lacrosse, capacity decreases to 17,544. The arena supports numerous other configurations for events such as concerts, monster trucks, and circuses.[8] The seating below the suites, known as the lower bowl, is further divided into the 100 and 200 levels. The upper bowl seats, above the suites, are the 300 level.[8]

The arena features 70 Suites and 8 Skyboxes each with a seating capacity of 22 guests. Suites include amenities such as a wet bar, catering, a private restroom, multiple television monitors, and a sound system.[8] Suites may be rented on a yearly[21] or single-event[22] basis; yearly renters of suites are given access to all Moda Center events. The arena also features modular party suites, which can be configured either as a pair of 44-person Super Suites, or as one 88-person mega suite.[23]

For smaller, more intimate events, Moda Center can be placed into a configuration known as the "Theater of the Clouds". This configuration, part of a trend of large arenas having smaller theater configurations,[24] places the stage at center court, and utilizes the western side of the arena.[25] Custom floor-to-ceiling theater curtains are draped at the edges of the seating area, creating a more intimate setting. As of 2004, on average 10 events per year have been held in the Theater of the Clouds configuration.[26] The Theater of the Clouds configuration seats 6,500, with 16 of the 70 luxury boxes being usable.[27]

Two concourses, the 100 level and the 300 level, are open to the ticket-buying public during events; the 100 level concourse provides access to the lower bowl (including the 200-level seats); the 300-level concourse provides access to the upper bowl. A third concourse, the 200 level, provides access to guest services such as a sports bar, a barbecue grill, an executive banquet facility, and several outdoor terraces. A fourth concourse, known as Suite Level, provides access to the skyboxes and is restricted to patrons who have skybox admission. All concourses provide a variety of concession stands. The arena also features 32 public restrooms; women's toilets outnumber men's toilets 3 to 1.[8] There are Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the arena.[23] The concourses are decorated with historical memorabilia.[28]

The primary scoreboard is a Mitsubishi-manufactured HD video scoreboard. This scoreboard, which hangs from the ceiling over center court, features four 15 feet by 22.5 feet (4.5 m by 6.75 m) video screens, among the biggest in the NBA.[23] The arena also features over 650 television monitors placed throughout,[8] showing the action on court. Auxiliary scoreboards located both in the arena itself and the concourses provide statistical information, including "hustle" statistics for basketball (rebounds, blocked shots, and steals). Three media towers, one at each main entrance, provide video of other games in the NBA.[28]

A unique feature found in no other multi-purpose arena is known as the "acoustical cloud". The acoustical cloud is a set of 160 rotating acoustic panels suspended from the Moda Center ceiling, intended to recreate the roar of noise that made the old Memorial Coliseum one of the loudest buildings in the NBA. One side of each 10 feet by 10 feet (3 m by 3 m) panel reflects sound, while the other side absorbs sound. Each panel is shaped like an airplane wing, and is 8 inches (20 cm) thick at the center and 4 inches (10 cm) thick at the edges. The effect during Blazers games is to absorb the noise from the upper levels and reflect it back down to the court.

The panels permit the acoustics of the arena to be adjusted according to the requirements of the event. For smaller events in which only the lower bowl of the arena is used, the panels can be lowered to further improve the sound and increase the intimacy of the arena. The acoustical cloud cost US$2 million to design and install.[29] The arena is also equipped with a JBL sound system.[23] The acoustics of Moda Center have been widely praised compared to similar venues.[26]

An exterior shot of the arena

The financing of the construction of the facility was widely hailed at the time as a good example of public-private partnership; most of the costs were borne by Allen and/or Allen-owned companies, rather than by taxpayers.[43] The bulk of the $262 million[10] construction costs were funded by a $155 million loan from a consortium of lenders led by pension fund TIAA-CREF. As Allen was unwilling to guarantee the loan with his personal finances, the lenders demanded an interest rate of 8.99%, with no opportunity for prepayment.[44] Other major creditors included Prudential Insurance, and Farmers Insurance.[45]

The remainder of funds came from the City of Portland ($34.5 million), Allen himself ($46 million), with the final $10 million coming from a bond backed by box office and parking revenues.[46] In addition, the City transferred to Allen the underlying land. The city maintains ownership of the Memorial Coliseum and the adjacent parking garages, but the right to manage these was also transferred to Allen. In exchange, Allen signed an exclusive site agreement with the city requiring the Trail Blazers to play all home games in Portland for 30 years[34] The City of Portland hoped that the building of the arena would lead to other renovation or development in the Rose Quarter district, but as of 2021 this has yet to materialize.[47]

Ground on the arena was broken in 1993, and the arena opened on October 12, 1995.[48] The project included the largest construction and demolition recycling program in the U.S. up to that time, in which 32,700 tonnes (32,200 long tons; 36,000 short tons) of construction waste and 308,400 tonnes (303,500 long tons; 340,000 short tons) of dirt were recycled, saving OAC over $127,000. This effort later won the project an environmental award from the city.[49]

The first concert held in the arena was held two weeks after opening, when David Bowie performed on October 25, with Nine Inch Nails opening.[50] The first regular-season game to be played at the facility was the Trail Blazers hosting the then-Vancouver Grizzlies on November 3, 1995, a 92–80 defeat for the home team.[10] The arena was originally capable of seating 20,340 spectators for NBA basketball. Its capacity has since been reduced to 19,393 by subsequent modifications. At the time of its construction, the arena was a state-of-the-art facility. Although more recent NBA arenas have surpassed Moda Center in amenities, it still is well regarded as a facility.[28] A 2005 survey by USA Today ranked the facility in the middle of the pack among the 29 NBA arenas; factors unrelated to the venue itself (such as ticket prices and entertainment offerings) are considered in the rankings.[51]

Soon after the arena opened, it was the subject of several lawsuits seeking to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act. One lawsuit (United States v. Ellerbe Becket, Inc.) was filed by the United States Department of Justice against architect Ellerbe-Becket; another (Independent Living Resources v. Oregon Arena Corporation) was filed by a disabled advocacy group against OAC. Both lawsuits alleged that Moda Center (and other facilities designed by Ellerbe Becket) did not provide adequate seating for patrons using wheelchairs, and that the line-of-sight of patrons in wheelchairs was frequently obstructed by standing spectators.[52] The first case was settled with a consent decree, wherein Ellerbe Becket agreed to design future projects in compliance with the ADA;[53] the lawsuit against Oregon Arena Corp was resolved in 1998 when OAC agreed to install over one hundred elevated seats permitting wheelchair-using patrons to see over standing spectators in front.[54]

Claiming the local economy was responsible for reduced revenues which made it unable to make payments on the loans used to finance construction, the Oregon Arena Corporation filed for bankruptcy on February 27, 2004. After negotiations concurrent with the bankruptcy failed to produce a settlement, the United States Bankruptcy Court ordered on November 8 of that year that the Oregon Arena Corporation transfer the facility to the creditors.[55] A new corporation owned by the creditors, Portland Arena Management (PAM) took over operation of the arena.[11] PAM in turn hired Global Spectrum to operate the arena. For several years, the Trail Blazers (still owned by Allen) and the Portland Arena Management had a highly hostile relationship,[56] with the two entities competing for ticket sales.[57]

The team made numerous complaints about a "broken economic model",[58] and there was much speculation that the Trail Blazers might leave.[59] The team was put up for sale in the summer of 2006,[60] only to be taken off the market again several months later.[61] Speculation intensified as to what would happen,[62] and the team and Paul Allen were roundly criticized in the media.[45][62][63][64][65] Despite the criticism and the team's poor finances the team insisted that bankruptcy was the right move.[66]

Early in 2007, Allen and the creditors reached an agreement for Allen to repurchase the arena, and the team and the building were united under common ownership once more.[12] After much speculation that Allen would hire Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to replace Global Spectrum, arena management elected to extend Global Spectrum's management contract by one year in the summer of 2007.[31] In September 2007, Global Spectrum announced that the arena would undergo $13 million in renovations.[23]