Perhaps the Portland Trail Blazers and Larry Miller shouldn’t chalk up another win just yet.

While their JumpTown vision for the Rose Quarter and Memorial Coliseum redevelopment was met with wide approval by area businesses and neighborhood associations last month, alternate proposals continue to flow towards Mayor Sam Adams and his 32-member Rose Quarter Development Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC).

 “Many people in the community feel that this public process is just for show, and this is just a legal loop that the City must go through in order for them to renew their development contract with the Blazers,” said Gina Ronning-Botel, who is facilitating a development team pursuing a transformation of the Coliseum into a Museum of Natural & Cultural History.

According to Ronning-Botel, a Portland State University student, the 140,000-square-foot space would house some of the world’s largest and most diverse collection of artifacts, and would also include a Veterans Museum Annex. She is currently in the general concept phase - a process that includes a public presentation in late January – and hopes to overcome preconceived notions about the idea.

 “It has been difficult to rally those who support our idea because [City representatives] feel it’s a waste of time and energy,” said Ronning-Botel.

No one is claiming “Game Over” for the Blazers. Instead, many in Portland continue to say, “Show me the money – or more specifically, who will finance the project and what it will cost. More in-depth proposals will be presented this month, complete with renderings and budgets. But as of late December, the Blazers team was still working out the details.

“We do not have a pro forma or overall project budget yet,” said Charlie Burr, a media relations representative for the Blazers, late last month. “We’re incorporating feedback from the various groups and neighbors who are weighing in. We’ll likely be working right up to the January deadline for the concept submission.”

For the Blazers, Cordish - a real estate development and entertainment operating company with 28 properties across the United States - will be a major investor and source of private financing for the Rose Quarter redevelopment and repurposing of Memorial Coliseum.

When the Rose Garden was built in 1995, the Blazers invested more than $232 million in private funds to build the arena. Burr said there is “no dollar figure yet for the overall project cost, nor Cordish’s investment.” He added that, unlike the Rose Garden, which was 100 percent privately financed, the Blazers want JumpTown to be the product of a public-private partnership.

An official with the Portland Development Commission (PDC) said that “We have not specifically allocated funds to the Memorial Coliseum or the district yet. This would truly be tied to the public benefit associated with either aspect of the project.”

Public funding for the project is currently available from two sources: $5.4 million in tax increment financing from the Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area (allocated for fiscal years 2011-12 and 2012-13), and up to $24.9 million in remaining maximum indebtedness from the OCC URA that could be accessed through private placement of deferred interest bonds. 

Last month, the PDC released the results of a study analyzing the overall re-purposing of Memorial Coliseum, including “cost estimates” as one of their five general categories. According to the study, baseline improvements – those which are necessary for the operation of the facility or to meet current codes – will cost approximately $5.4 million. The study also stated that a “full upgrade” – the total value of the baseline improvements and “additional improvements” desired - to the Coliseum would be approximately $26 million in direct construction costs.

Such figures could cause proposals like Ronning-Bottel’s fall to the wayside, leaving the Blazers once again the frontrunner. But with both private and public financing questions to be asked, not everyone is convinced JumpTown’s plan for the Coliseum is the answer. As Ronning-Bottel put it, “Just because someone can pay for something to be built, doesn’t mean it should be built.”