Moda Center The Moda Center , formerly known as the Rose Garden Arena , is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland , Oregon , United States . It is suitable for large indoor events of all sorts , including basketball , ice hockey , rodeos , circuses , conventions , ice shows , concerts , and dramatic productions . The arena has a capacity of 20 , 630 spectators when configured for basketball ; it holds smaller crowds when configured for other events . The arena is equipped with state - of - the - art acoustics and other amenities . It is owned by Vulcan Inc . , a holding company owned by Paul Allen , and is currently managed by Anschutz Entertainment Group . The primary tenant is the Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise , also owned by Allen . Several other professional sports franchises , and the Portland State University men ' s basketball team , either currently play home games in the Rose Garden , or have done so in the past . In addition , the Rose Garden is a popular venue for concerts and other artistic productions . Construction on the Rose Garden began in 1993 , and the arena opened on October 12 , 1995 . The arena cost US $ 262 million to build ; construction was financed with funds obtained by a variety of sources , including the City of Portland , Allen ' s personal fortune , and $ 155 million in bonds issued by a consortium of mutual funds and insurance companies . These bonds would become the subject of an acrimonious 2004 bankruptcy in which the Oregon Arena Corporation , the holding company which owned the arena at the time , would forfeit title to the Rose Garden in lieu of repaying the bonds per the payment terms . Allen would later repurchase the arena from the creditors in 2007 . Description . The Rose Garden is a multipurpose arena which is suitable for numerous indoor sports , including basketball , ice hockey , arena football , and lacrosse , as well as for hosting other events such as concerts , conventions , and circuses . The arena is located in a sports and entertainment district known as the Rose Quarter , a parcel of land in inner northeast Portland which also includes the Memorial Coliseum arena , as well as several parking structures , restaurants , and other amenities . Name . The official name of the facility is " Rose Garden " ; though the arena is commonly known as the " Rose Garden Arena " to disambiguate it from the International Rose Test Garden , also located in Portland . The name was chosen both to reflect Portland ' s reputation as the Rose City , and to reflect the importance to basketball heritage of Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden arenas in Boston and New York City , respectively . When the name was selected , the remainder of the former Coliseum grounds were given the name " Rose Quarter " . On December 12 , 2007 , the Trail Blazers and Vulcan announced that they were seeking a corporate partner to grant naming rights for the facility , with the goal of a new name being available for the Blazers ' 2008 – 09 season . Until then , the Rose Garden remains one of only a handful of NBA facilities for which naming rights have not been sold . Currently , corporate sponsorship is offered on four " media totems " at each of the facility ' s main entrances . Structure and architecture . The Rose Garden is a precast concrete - framed structure with a roof made up of skeletal steel . The arena structure encloses a total of over 785 , 000 sq . ft . , on eight levels , five of which are open to the public . The building is 140 ft . from the event floor to the pinnacle of the saddle - shaped roof . The arena includes a 60 X 40 ft . permanent stage , and a 200 X 85 ft . ice rink . Seating . The arena has a total of over 14 , 000 permanent seats arranged in two bowls . An additional 1540 permanent seats are found in the arena ' s 70 skyboxes . Over 4200 portable seats may or may not be installed , depending on the arena ' s configuration . When configured for basketball , the arena has a capacity of 19 , 980 , and can accommodate a total of up to 20 , 580 patrons with standing room only . Prior to the 1998 NBA season the capacity was reduced to 19 , 980 from the original 21 , 400 spectators . When configured for hockey or lacrosse , capacity decreases to 17 , 544 . The arena supports numerous other configurations for events such as concerts , monster trucks , and circuses . The seating below the skyboxes , known as the lower bowl , is further divided into the 100 and 200 levels . The upper bowl seats , above the skyboxes , are the 300 level . Tenants and events . It is the home to the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League , a Canadian junior hockey league . Both the Trail Blazers and Winterhawks previously played in the Memorial Coliseum and moved to the Rose Garden when it was completed in 1995 . However , the Rose Garden and the Memorial Coliseum split Winterhawks home games during the season . The Rose Garden and Winterhawks hold the Western Hockey League ' s record for single game attendance with a crowd of 19 , 103 on March 15 , 1997 in which Portland tied the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds , 6 – 6 . The arena was also built to accommodate a NHL franchise and there has been speculation over the years about Portland landing an NHL team ; however this has not occurred .