Trail Blazers Looking to Build in All Phases as 2021-22 Season Starts — Sport Oregon Voices

Photo Credit: Bruce Ely, Portland Trail Blazers

Sport Oregon Voices: Team opens new season to fans at full capacity while welcoming new additions to the team and fan-centric amenities

As with any new season, there were a number of new faces and names to become familiar with on the court as the Portland Trail Blazers opened their 2021-22 regular season Wednesday night at the Moda Center. But this year, there were even more familiar faces to reacquaint with in the stands, as the team welcomed back fans without capacity restrictions for the first time since early 2020.

Like most organizations throughout the world of sports, the Trail Blazers are building their in-arena business back up after playing their home games to an empty building or substantially reduced capacities over the past two seasons due to the pandemic. Last season, the Trail Blazers were able to open the Moda Center to fans at a reduced capacity for a few home games at the tail end of the season and during the playoffs.

Chris McGowan, president and CEO of the Trail Blazers, says the team is excited to be able to be back at full capacity to start the season, but that it is taking a pragmatic and patient approach to building back to pre-pandemic numbers and expectations.

“Going into this season, it’s great because we don’t have any capacity restrictions,” McGowan said. “At the same time, we’re still building.”

The team expects a robust return of fans and a number of sizeable crowds this season – as was the case with Wednesday’s season opener – with a return to the pre-pandemic numbers to come over time. As such, McGowan says the team has adapted and taken a more creative approach to tickets sales this season, with an increased focus on individual ticket and smaller packages in the immediate term.

“Our goal is to sell out every game, but realistically it’s going to build this year,” McGowan said. “The momentum is good, and I think once the season gets more into full swing, people are going to be more comfortable with going out and going to events, particularly as the pandemic numbers improve.”

With a fan-first philosophy, the Trail Blazers, who traditionally rank among the best-attended teams in the NBA each year, have worked with season ticket holders to pause and essentially save their seats until the point at which they feel comfortable in returning to the arena. The team, which will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend games this season, also has implemented a new system called RQ Check-In to speed up entry to the Moda Center, in addition to other health and safety measures in the arena.

So with area sports fans still weighing their comfort levels as it relates to in-venue attendance, it was even more exciting to learn of the team’s new broadcast partnership beginning this season.

This summer, the Trail Blazers announced a four-year agreement with a new regional sports network partner, ROOT SPORTS, to carry their games. With the move – along with extended carriage on DirecTV and the streaming platform fuboTV – the new broadcast partnership includes the trio of cable, satellite and streaming coverage, and essentially doubles the team’s reach compared to past seasons. Already home to many of the top professional teams in the region – including the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Kraken and Portland Timbers – ROOT SPORTS will air Trail Blazers games live to fans throughout Oregon, Washington and Alaska as part of the deal that runs through the 2024-25 season. Just prior to the season, ROOT SPORTS announced its agreements with DirecTV and fuboTV to present even more options for fans to watch.

With ROOT SPORTS featuring so many of the top teams in the region, McGowan says that, in addition to the substantially larger broadcast reach, the team also sees a lot of benefit to the cross-collaboration possibilities amongst the teams.

“It’s a compelling network for the Pacific Northwest,” he said.

But while the options in which to watch games will be more plentiful and varied, the team’s game broadcasts will include many of the quality elements fans have come to expect and enjoy over the years. The team takes great pride in its game broadcasts, anchored by Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam on the TV game-coverage side. Additionally, the team has added Portland native and ESPN SportsCenter mainstay, Neil Everett, to the broadcast team this season as a studio host for most road games.

“The way our broadcast comes off, we think, is really important to our brand,” McGowan said. “We have an amazing group of broadcasters that are working on all aspects, including pregame, postgame and halftime shows, and we feel we have one of the best broadcast teams in sports.”

Fans will notice a new jersey patch partner this season as well. In July, the Trail Blazers announced a multi-year patch partnership with StormX, a leading crypto cashback provider. As part of the deal, StormX’s logo will be featured on the team’s home, road and practice jerseys and makes the company the exclusive blockchain partner of the NBA team. The partnership also includes in-arena assets and joint community initiatives.

As the CEO of Vulcan Sports & Entertainment (VSE), McGowan’s focus extends beyond the Trail Blazers to that of all VSE sports franchises and facilities. He says there has been a great deal of momentum generated for non-Trail Blazers and Portland Winterhawks events at the Rose Quarter venues as well, as the return of live music and other sporting events have begun to fill up the schedule once again.

“We’re always bidding, so anything that’s out there we’re going to be attempting to get it,” he said. “We expect to get all the major tours, and if you’re a music fan, it’s going to be a fun next couple years. You’ll have a lot of options to see a lot of different bands.

On the court, the Trail Blazers will look to add to their current postseason streak of eight straight seasons, the longest active streak in the NBA, and build on that with an extended playoff run. They’ll do so under new head coach, Chauncey Billups, and a fine-tuned roster that includes the return of its core and impactful offseason additions that should provide even more versatility this season.

For McGowan, who enters his 10th season with the organization, each new campaign brings a sense of optimism and intent, looking to keep building on all aspects of success within the organization. And this season, in particular, he says the team’s mentality is centered around building on past successes and getting to that next level, in all areas of the operation.

“As with every season, I’m really excited to see how it’s going to pan out,” he said. “There are a lot of new faces in our organization on the basketball side, new coaching staff, a lot of new energy. It’s going to be really interesting and fun to see what can happen.”

If You’re Going
A variety of Trail Blazers ticket options – including individual-game, season tickets, ticket packs and group opportunities – are available on the Trail Blazers website.

What’s Coming Up
Click through to the Rose Quarter website for a full rundown of games, concerts and special events coming up at the Moda Center and Memorial Coliseum.