Tom Dundon, owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, reportedly has reached an agreement to buy the Portland Trail Blazers from Paul Allen’s estate at a valuation of more than $4 billion, a story broken by Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico and confirmed by other reports.
The new owners intend to keep the Trail Blazers in Portland, according to the reports. That ultimately will involve Dundon’s group building a new arena in the area, something NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had said was part of the discussion involved with this sale.
“The city of Portland likely needs a new arena,” Silver said during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. “So that will be part of the challenge for any new ownership group coming in.”
Dundon not only owns the Hurricanes, but also is the majority owner of the Professional Pickleball Association and Major League Pickleball (he has invested heavily in that fast-growing sport). Dundon will head a group that also includes Marc Zahr, the co-president of Blue Owl Capital, and Portland-based Sheel Tyle, co-CEO of Collective Global, Sportico reports.
The Trail Blazers were put up for sale in May, following the wishes of the late Paul Allen, who owned the team in a trust. His sister, Jody Allen, is the trustee and executor of his estate, and she moved more slowly toward this sale than many Trail Blazers fans would have preferred. All the proceeds from the sale of the Trail Blazers will be given to charities and other philanthropic endeavors, as Paul Allen had put in his trust.
Before selling the team, Jody Allen made sure that general manager Joe Cronin and coach Chauncey Billups got contract extensions. On the court, the Trail Blazers are in the midst of a rebuild with some promising young players — Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija, and just-drafted Chinese center Yang Hansen — and it just brought back franchise legend Damian Lillard (who will miss the coming season recovering from a torn Achilles).
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