Moda Center – Home of the Portland Trail Blazers | Arena Guide

Moda Center is the passionate home of the Portland Trail Blazers in the Rose Quarter — a 30-acre sports and entertainment district on the east bank of the Willamette River, approximately two miles from downtown Portland. The arena opened in November 1995 as the Rose Garden and has been the heart of "Rip City" basketball ever since — a city whose love for its NBA franchise is among the most deeply ingrained in American sports culture. Renamed Moda Center in 2013 following a naming rights agreement with Oregon-based health insurance company Moda Health, the arena has celebrated franchise legends from Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton through Damian Lillard, whose iconic buzzer-beater moments and decade-long commitment to Portland became one of the NBA's great player-city stories. With a seating capacity of 19,393, Moda Center is one of the NBA's largest arenas. The TriMet MAX Light Rail's Rose Quarter Transit Center station is steps from the arena, making public transit access excellent for fans across the Portland metro area. Moda Center features one of the NBA's strictest bag policies — all bags are strictly prohibited inside both Moda Center and adjacent Veterans Memorial Coliseum, with only women's clutches, medical bags, and infant bags permitted (via X-ray at the Garden Garage P5 entrance). The arena operates adjacent to Veterans Memorial Coliseum, home of the Portland Winterhawks junior hockey team, as part of the Rose Quarter campus. The iconic "Rip City" sign near the arena's south entrance — with its missing second "I" so fans can stand in the sign for photos — has become one of the NBA's best fan engagement features. Suite guests access the arena via the VIP Suite Level entrance on P4 of the Toyota Garden Garage and have access to the private Moda Center Club level.

Moda Center opened in November 1995 as the Rose Garden — a purpose-built NBA arena that replaced Memorial Coliseum as the Trail Blazers' home. The arena was developed by Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder) at a cost of $262 million as a privately financed arena — one of the last major NBA arenas built without public subsidy. The Rose Garden immediately became one of the league's most celebrated home arenas, with the Trail Blazers' strong fan base generating sell-out crowds and a "Rip City" atmosphere that became one of the NBA's most recognisable. The arena was named after the city's famous International Rose Test Garden. In 2004–2005, the Trail Blazers' parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following declining attendance (as the team underperformed), but new ownership stabilised the franchise and the arena. The venue was renamed Moda Center in 2013. The franchise's greatest moment at this arena came through Damian Lillard — drafted in 2012, Lillard became the face of the franchise for over a decade, delivering iconic playoff moments including the "Dame Time" 37-foot buzzer-beater against Oklahoma City in 2019. Lillard was eventually traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023, but his legacy in Portland basketball and at Moda Center remains profound.

Moda Center on Trail Blazers game nights can be one of the NBA's most intimate and passionate experiences when the team is competitive — Portland's basketball culture runs deep and the fanbase is knowledgeable, vocal, and intensely loyal. The pregame experience starts in the Rose Quarter plaza with Dr. Jack's brewpub and the Rip City sign. The Steel Bridge walk from downtown on warm evenings is a Portland sports tradition. Inside, lighted displays honouring Blazers legends near section tunnels create a museum feel alongside the game-day energy. Oregon and Pacific Northwest craft beers (Ten Barrel, Bridgeport, local selections) give the concourse a distinctly Portland flavour. For peak atmosphere: the building reaches its highest levels of intensity during playoff games and rivalry matchups — Portland's relatively small-market fanbase compensates for size with extraordinary passion when the stakes are highest.

Moda Center offers behind-the-scenes tours covering the Trail Blazers locker room (subject to team schedule), player tunnel, court-level access, Moda Center Club Level, luxury suites, and press areas. Contact 844.MODA.365 or blazerssuites@trailblazers.com for tour and suite enquiries. CRITICAL: All bags are strictly prohibited inside Moda Center — only women's clutches, medical bags, and infant bags are permitted, all via X-ray at Garden Garage P5 entrance.