Chase Center: Golden State Warriors' ribbon cutting marks new beginning for sports, entertainment in San Francisco's Mission Bay
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A ribbon cutting ceremony held by the Golden State Warriors marked the beginning of a new journey for sports and entertainment at Chase Center in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood. Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony opens the arena on Friday.
"Honestly I'm having trouble imagining just how incredible it will be," said Warriors Co-Executive Chairman and CEO Joe Lacob. "It's going to be concerts, San Francisco hasn't had an arena or building like this."
The new 18,000 seat sports and entertainment arena was privately financed but building in California and San Francisco didn't come without challenges.
"The length of the journey I thought would be a long sprint, instead it became an enduring marathon," said Warriors Co-Executive Chairman Peter Guber. "But what I didn't know was the difficulty of executing in San Francisco."
The late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who called this his legacy project, was honored during the ceremony for his contributions.
"All that had to get done in order to make this a reality, every step of the way Mayor Ed Lee pushed for this project to happen and I know that we would not be here today had it not been for his incredible leadership," said Mayor London Breed.
From the Warriors to the world's top entertainers, the fan experience is at the forefront of everything that happens at Chase Center.
"These things are about creating memories," said Warriors President and COO Rick Welts. 'Family memories and generational memories and to me that's the most important function of what Chase Center will be to the Bay Area."
The Warriors first announced their move to San Francisco on May 22, 2012, broke ground on Chase Center on Jan. 17, 2017 and will open the doors for the first public event this Friday when they host Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony.
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