San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - The Golden State Warriors are planning to
move back across the bay to San Francisco.
San Francisco mayor Edwin M. Lee was joined by Warriors owner and CEO Joe
Lacob at a press conference Tuesday on the proposed site of the new building
at Pier 30-32 on San Francisco Bay near the foot of the Bay Bridge.
It will be a privately-financed, $500 million building on the waterfront that
will seat between 17,000 and 19,000 people. The team and city are hopeful that
it will open in time for the 2017-18 season.
"We are working with the Warriors to get a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose
arena built on the waterfront in San Francisco and completed in 2017," said
Lee. "The Warriors have been the Bay Area's basketball team for 50 years, and
today sets the stage for the Warriors to be the Bay Area's team for another
50."
Lacob, who took over ownership of the franchise in November 2010, has been
trying to find a new venue for the team, which left Philadelphia for the west
coast and played in San Francisco from 1962 through 1971 before leaving for
Oakland.
"This has been remarkable journey for us," said Lacob at Tuesday's news
conference. "It was not an easy decision. We looked at a number of sites. We
explored all our options in the Bay Area, including Oakland.
"Our fan base is really 50-50. We are the Bay Area's basketball team and have
to find the best for our fans."
Under the agreement, the city of San Francisco will provide the land and the
Warriors will pay to repair the crumbling piers, and privately finance the
arena project. The cost of repairs is estimated at $75 to $100 million.
"We plan to build the most spectacular arena in the country," Lacob said
Tuesday. "We intend to do everything in our power to have a team to match the
standard of what this arena will be. This arena is about winning, just like
the team on the court."
The Warriors were 23-43 during the truncated 2011-12 season and have not had a
winning season record since the 2007-08 campaign. The club has had just one
playoff appearance in the past 18 years.
The Sports Network