warriors sf arena update (Photo: http://www.nba.com/warriors/sf)
The Golden State Warriors have put their move to San Francisco on hold. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Warriors are putting their goal of opening their proposed San Francisco arena by 2017 on hold for a year or longer.
The proposed arena would be 125 feet tall on Piers 30-32, and the project also includes a 175-foot condominium tower and two 105-foot mid-rise buildings that will become a hotel.
There have been many speed bumps on the Warriors’ road to building a new arena in San Francisco. First of all, the cost estimates for repairing Piers 30-32 have doubled to $180 million. These costs don’t include the actual construction of the arena also.
Second, there is serious opposition to this arena. One of the biggest points of opposition is the height of the proposed arena. On the piers, there is a 40-foot height limit, and on the lot that includes the tower and mid-rise buildings, there is a 105-foot height limit. Based on the estimates, the arena, and the project as a whole, would certainly exceed these height limits.
Arena opponents have collected more than 15,000 signatures for a ballot measure, which would prevent developers, including the Warriors, from exceeding certain height limits on the waterfront without getting voter approval.
Jon Golinger, the campaign director in charge of adding the ballot measure, told John Coté of the Chronicle that people deserve the right to protect the waterfront or at least approve any proposed projects.
“The San Francisco waterfront was granted to the people of San Francisco, not the politicians,” said Jon Golinger, who managed the campaign to defeat a luxury condominium development near the Ferry Building in November and is the campaign director for the current ballot measure effort. “The people have the power to protect it. … This measure will ultimately withstand any challenges.”
However, as we reported last November, there are also plenty of people who not only opposed the “Washington 8” luxury condominium development, who also are proponents of the arena:
While the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved 8 Washington, prompting the push for a ballot measure, President David Chiu was one of the three members opposed.
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“The 8 Washington project was about high-rise luxury condos for a few versus an iconic public arena that will serve 800,000 San Franciscans” Chiu said Thursday.
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Another major source of opposition for 8 Washington was the local Democratic Party. Also speaking at Thursday’s breakfast was Vice-Chair Leah Pimentel.
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“I was in the no on 8 Washington because I felt it wasn’t the right development for our waterfront,” Pimentel said. “However, this is the correct development for our waterfront.”
In order to qualify for the ballot in June, the opponents had to gather 9,702 valid signatures of registered voters. Based on the fact that they have already gathered more than 15,000 signatures in just three weeks, it makes sense why the Warriors made this announcement on Sunday to put the proposed arena on hold.
So the Warriors have realized that their timetable no longer only involves just submitting permits to the city and adhering to various city ordinances. They have a real political battle ahead of them and they will need to spend some time strategizing on the correct public relations campaign, as the opposition apparently has already done.
Mayor Ed Lee has backed the Warriors’ arena plan since the initial announcement, but he did believe that the voters would ultimately want a say on if they wanted the arena to be built.
Despite the opposition, it appears as if the Warriors are still set on building an area in San Francisco at some point in the future. Rick Welts, the president of the Warriors, shared this same sentiment with Phillip Matier And Andrew Ross of the Chronicle.
“It’s about getting it right, not about getting it done fast,” said Warriors President Rick Welts.
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group also dispelled rumors that the Warriors were looking at a site near the San Francisco Giants‘ home at AT&T Park on China Basin:
What’s more, Welts said moving next door to the Giants is not on the table. He said they aren’t considering East Bay locations. The smart money is on some alternative plans being worked out behind the scenes to save face. But the public stance remains emphatic.
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“We’re 100 percent focused on 30/32,” Welts said.
Since the Warriors’ plans to move to San Francisco have been put on hold, the team is currently in discussion to stay in Oakland at Oracle Arena beyond the 2016-2017 season, when their current lease expires.
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