The sale of NBA side Portland Trail Blazers to a consortium led by Tom Dundon, owner of NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, has been completed. The team was previously held by the estate of billionaire Paul Allen, who died in 2018. Proceeds from the sale, put on the market in May 2025, will go to Allen’s charitable foundations.
Financial terms were not disclosed but estimates value the deal at around $4.25 billion (£3.21 billion). The franchise will remain in Portland, with Dundon appointed team governor. “Today is the beginning of a new chapter for the Portland Trail Blazers,” Dundon said, pledging to build a team capable of competing at the highest level every season.
Allen bought the team in 1988 for $70 million (£52.9 million) from co-founder Larry Weinberg and also owned the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. Portland, winners of a single NBA championship in 1977, have struggled this season after head coach Chauncey Billups was suspended following an FBI investigation into alleged illegal sports betting and mafia-linked poker games. Under interim coach Tiago Splitter, the Trail Blazers are set to compete in the post-season play-in tournament starting 14 April.