UCSF gives conditional support for new Warriors arena

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A key player is giving conditional support for a new Golden State Warriors stadium in San Francisco. The team wants to build it across the street from UCSF's new medical center in the city's Mission Bay District.

The comment period closed Monday for supporters and opponents of the proposed Warriors arena in San Francisco to let the city know how they feel about a tentative environmental impact report.

For the first time we heard from a major stakeholder, UCSF, which has three hospitals across the street.

UCSF unveiled a campaign Monday called Win-Win SF, officials saying they are encouraged by what the city and the Warriors have in mind to ease traffic congestion near the hospital.

But their support is contingent on the city signing a binding agreement to oversee scheduling if necessary when games at nearby AT&T Park overlap with more than 200 events planned for the arena.

"The city has the ability to say to the Giants or the Warriors, let's schedule it so that you're not having, say, Madonna here at the same time the Giants are playing the Dodgers," UCSF Vice Chancellor Barbara French said.

But City Hall has not agreed to that - at least not yet. The mayor has previously sad it's inappropriate for UCSF to dictate restrictions.

The point person on traffic mitigations said Monday the city has a workable access plan, including, "Transit lanes that are dedicated and protected from regular traffic. Those are open to emergency vehicles and those are open people with emergencies," SFMTA's Peter Albert said.

Ryan, 9, is a cancer patient at UCSF Mission Bay and last week, her mother says it took them over half an hour to drive one mile from AT&T Park after a game to the hospital.

"As a parent and you're undergoing something like this, you have a lot of other things on your plate to worry about. Getting to the hospital should not be one of them," parent Mindy Magnusson said.

Traffic is the key concern of UCSF officials who announced they support the proposed Warriors arena and unveiled what they call a Win-Win campaign video.

It includes a major contingency - a binding agreement that would force the city to step in if necessary when there are overlapping events with the Giants and the arena, which will host concerts as well as basketball games.

But opponents, a group called the Mission Bay Alliance, predict "carmageddon," a traffic meltdown on the Bay Bridge, highways and streets.

"We're going to fight the Warriors proposal 'til hell freezes over and then we'll fight them on the ice," Alliance spokesperson Sam Singer said.

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