OAKLAND -- The Warriors’ wish to move to San Francisco will get real on Jan. 17, when they plan to break ground on Chase Center.
Team president and COO Rick Welts made the announcement Tuesday afternoon. The facility is expected to be completed prior to the 2019-20 NBA season.
"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,” Welts said in a statement. “Chase Center and the surrounding area will serve as a destination for the entire community and we will continue to work to make sure it is the best experience possible for everyone to enjoy NBA basketball, concerts, family shows, conventions and more.”
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The move to the Mission Bay site has been fought by various groups in San Francisco, most notably the Mission Bay Alliance, which vowed to litigate relentlessly in an effort to force a change in location.
The MBA cited several concerns, chief among them being the impact of traffic congestion in the immediate area of the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay.
The Warriors, however, have prevailed over the MBA in every court battle, the most recent occurring in November with an Appeals Court victory upholding the validity of the Environmental Impact Report.
The Warriors in 2014 scrapped an initial proposal to build on Piers 30-32, and then turned their attention toward the current bayside site, which sits several blocks south of AT&T Park.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors originated in Philadelphia before moving to California in 1962. They spent 10 years as the San Francisco Warriors, playing mostly at the Cow Palace, before moving to the Oakland Coliseum Arena (now Oracle Arena) in 1971 and becoming the Golden State Warriors.