Warriors address plans for new San Francisco arena

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Golden State Warriors officially talked about their plan to build a new arena Tuesday.

The Warriors originally planned to build an arena on Piers 30 and 32 but, abandoned those plans after purchasing land from Salesforce.com for an arena at Mission Bay.

The team now promises to build a landmark on Mission Bay, just south of AT&T Park.

"We've taken, I think, a lot of the risk and time concerns out of getting to the finish line and that certainty was really worth paying a very high price for private land and agreeing to build a privately financed arena," said Warriors President Rick Welts.

Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos is pushing Proposition B, which would require tall buildings, like the Warriors' now abandoned waterfront design, to get voter approval. Agnos applauds the team's change of heart and change of plans.

"They've got a site that makes more sense. It's the right location and I think they're going to find that their second choice really is the best choice," he said.

Some of the workers at the nearby University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay campus fear the new arena will increase traffic and make it harder to get to work. But there is the Muni T-Third line, Caltrain and the new Central Subway, scheduled to open 2018.

At The Ramp, a restaurant nearby, there is excitement about what's ahead.

"We're going to create a neighborhood here. It was missing. We used to be on the edge of town and now the city has come to us," said The Ramp's Arvind Patel.

The new Warriors plan still has hurdles including the San Francisco Planning Department's Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.