OPINION Blazer Games Vancouver to Paul Allen: Drop Dead

Last week Portland Trail Blazers Vice President Jim McCue insisted that he was not trying to play Vancouver off of Portland in the Blazers' efforts to build an amphitheater in the region. Although McCue's statement doesn't quite rise to the absurdity of Bill Clinton's remark that he "did not have sexual relations with that woman," it does reveal the less than complete forthrightness with which McCue and the Blazers have been pursuing an amphitheater in the metro area. Consider the evidence: * Earlier this year, City Commissioner Jim Francesconi enters into negotiations with Avalon, a California company interested in building a 17,000-plus-seat amphitheater at the city-owned Portland International Raceway. Ours is one of the few major metropolitan areas without an outdoor concert venue, and Francesconi and others would love to expand the region's cultural attractions, get a private party to pay for construction and generate some cash for the city along the way. * In May, Francesconi's office gets notice from the Blazers that if the city wants to get into the concert business, it must do so with owner Paul Allen. The Blazers remind the city of a contract both parties signed earlier in the decade. In return for Allen's agreement to keep the Blazers in Portland and build the Rose Garden, both sides agree not to develop any other entertainment venue with a capacity between 10,000 and 20,000 seats anywhere in the region--unless each party is a partner. * Within weeks, Avalon is out of the picture. The City of Portland's attorney agrees that the contract binds them to do business only with the Blazers. * On July 5, the Blazers, who have by now put former Governor Neil Goldschmidt on the payroll, submit a formal proposal to the city for the construction of an amphitheater at the Raceway. Tim Grewe, the city's finance director, tells the Blazers that they need to put more money on the table. * In August, the Blazers cross the Columbia and ask the Clark County Commission for permission to build an amphitheater at its fairgrounds. When asked why this proposal doesn't violate the very same non-compete clause used by the Blazers to scotch Portland's deal with Avalon, the Blazers say that the facility they would build in Clark County would seat 20,500, thus exceeding (albeit barely) the contractual definition of a venue. * August and early September. The Blazers continue to negotiate with both Vancouver and Portland. McCue denies that the Blazers are playing one city off the other, while another Blazers exec, Vice President J. Isaac, concedes that "we are only going to build one amphitheater." * Last week, Clark County commissioners shock the Blazers by dumping them. Stating that they feel as if they are being used by Allen so that he can negotiate a better deal with Portland, the commissioners choose instead to open discussions with a New York company called Q Prime, which puts an initial offer on the table that far exceeds the terms the Blazers were offering. It's unclear what impact Clark County's decision will have on Portland's negotiating position. But don't count the Blazers out. Allen is used to getting what he wants. For example, rumors are circulating that Allen has quietly purchased KXL radio, the last independent commerical station in the city--from a man who said he would never sell. Let's just hope that in the case of an amphitheater, Francesconi has the resolve to stick up for the city's interests and demand that the Blazers be more forthright than they have been so far.     originally published September 23 , 1998