Golden State Warriors set to break ground on new San Francisco venue

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Golden State Warriors arena sketch — Golden State Warriors president Rick Welts unveiled the team's "dream arena" on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015 at the Dreamforce Conference in San Francisco, Calif.
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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Golden State Warriors announced today the official ground breaking ceremony for their new venue in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood will be held at noon on January 17 at the new arena.

The Chase Center, which is scheduled to open for the start of the 2019-20 NBA season, will play host to a variety of events, including concerts, family shows and conventions, in addition to Warriors basketball. "We have been looking forward to this day since we first had the vision of building a privately financed state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex in San Francisco are excited for what this will bring to the city of San Francisco and the entire Bay Area community," Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts said.

Welts, Warriors Owner & CEO Joe Lacob, Co-Owner Peter Guber, Head Coach Steve Kerr and Forward Kevin Durant will join San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee for the historic ceremony and celebration. "This new venue will not only ensure our beloved Warriors remain in the Bay Area, but it will fill a void in San Francisco's portfolio of arts and events facilities," Lee said. "It will provide enormous economic benefits, including thousands of new jobs and millions in new tax revenues for the city. And the Warriors are doing it the right way - financing this arena entirely without public funding."

The 18,000-seat stadium will anchor a district of 11 acres of restaurants, cafes, offices, public plazas and other amenities the neighborhood currently lacks, along with a new 5.5-acre public waterfront park.

The new stadium will be located on a major Muni Metro rail line with easy access to BART. When complete, it will be the only privately financed facility of its kind built on private property in the modern era of professional sports.

The stadium is being built on a vacant lot that has been slated for development since 1998. The team entered into an agreement to purchase the property at Third and 16th Streets in Mission Bay in 2014, and has spent two years participating in a public planning process.

The project won approval from all regulatory agencies and city commissions, including a unanimous vote at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The Superior Court and, most recently, the California State Court of Appeals upheld the project, paving the way for breaking ground this month. "The Warriors have been the Bay Area's NBA team for more than half a century," Welts said. "With the construction of this new venue, we're making sure the Warriors will be the Bay Area's team for the next 50 years and beyond."

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