Warriors moving to San Francisco – how will the Bay Area change?

Bay Area Sports Guy May 21, 2012

You’ve all heard or read the news from Adam Lauridsen. The Golden State Warriors are headed to San Francisco and, as I wrote earlier, they won’t be known as the “Golden State Warriors” for long. Now that we’ve gone over four ways that the franchise will change, let’s tackle what will be different about our region after the Warriors move to “The City.”

1. Oracle Arena will turn into the Cow Palace.

Are you ready for hemp shows in Oakland? Flea markets? Tattoo expos? Oracle is the oldest NBA facility, but it’s far from a dump. Still, once people see the new arena in San Francisco it’ll go from “pretty nice” to “old and busted,” like a certain radio station’s commercial might say. No more NBA basketball, no more high profile concerts. Repairs won’t get done quite as quickly as before, if at all.

2. San Francisco traffic during rush hour is going to be insane.

Cars on The Embarcadero already move at a snail’s pace during weekday evenings. Even if the Warriors are only planning for 1,000 parking spots at the Piers 30/32 site, MUNI-phobic folks who also hate walking will attempt to park as close as possible to the arena. There will be many who take cabs or limousines to Warriors games, concerts, WWE events, etc. Extra foot traffic to the arena will cause a traffic slowdown from jaywalkers and pedestrians who, when they’re on their way to be entertained, inexplicably cross streets like they were recently tranquilized.

3. The Giants won’t have it quite so easy.

The World Series definitely helped matters, but a big reason why AT&T Park has a sellout streak is because it’s a great excuse to eat, drink and be merry in San Francisco. The Giants rule this town, at least in a marketing sense; soon the Warriors will fight the Giants for advertising space on MUNI buses and light posts. That could be why, as Marcus Thompson II reported, the Giants may continue to negotiate with the Warriors to keep them in their neighborhood. While MLB and NBA seasons don’t overlap all that much, the Giants and the Warriors will theoretically be competing for the same customers: those willing to pay extra to watch sports in a premium facility.

4. Major professional sports in Oakland won’t be around forever.

The A’s want to go to San Jose and won’t even entertain the option of building a new park in Oakland. The Raiders, noncommittal as always, are keeping their options open — especially since the 49ers won’t be sharing their new stadium in Santa Clara. Coliseum City is probably dead as an idea, and the perception that Oakland isn’t the place to be only becomes more pervasive as the Warriors flee for fancier digs. Of all the East Bay teams, the Warriors are by far the most successful from a financial and fan-engagement standpoint. In five years, the Warriors will probably be gone.

Click here for Part 2, four ways that the franchise will change and Part 3, where we’ll explore how Warriors fans will change.

About the Author

Otherwise known as Steve Berman (no, not the guy from the Eminem skits), BASG started Bay Area Sports Guy in January of 2008 with the help of his then-girlfriend (now wife). Since then he's covered college football for CSN Bay Area, gained media access to the Giants, Warriors and 49ers, and built Bay Area Sports Guy into the No. 1 independent Bay Area sports blog. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

13 comments

Newest | Oldest

Rutherford Van Gleason

People need to stop complaining about traffic. The beauty of a city ballpark or arena is that you don't drive to the ballpark. I know this is strange for Californians to consider and I didn't know about this until I left the state 20 years ago, but you can do this crazy thing. It's called "walking". See "walking" is the name for what you do when you aren't in your car. Some people walk from their car to their house or from their living room to their kitchen. And others, more adventurous others, "walk" from public transportation stops to sporting events. It's all the rage on the east coast and it's WILD! Fenway has been sold out for a decade, at least. Most Red Sox fans don't drive because it would take 3 times as long and they would have to pay 80 bucks for a parking spot that isn't likely to be there anyways. Most that do drive, wind up parking about a mile away, pay 50 bucks and then walk anyways. And they are mocked, as they should be, just like the idiots that would drive to the new SF arena would and should be.

Stop complaining about traffic? But that is a legitamate concern. Can the roads handle the extra traffic? What about the congestion? What about the greenhouse gases? Can public transit handle the extra ridership? Will there be designated bike lanes? Even with pedestrians, you have issues there too. With more pedestrians, there are additional public safety risks. What will be done to mitigate this? Will pedestrian bridges need to be built? What accomodations will be made for the physical handicapped? What accomodations will be made for the elderly?

devnull

pedestrians targets. There, fixed that for you.

Stan

You know,most times building a billion dollar stadium would be welcomed...but somehow local owners have twisted it to the point people line up against them. They want Stadiums where they aren't wanted and ignore open arms of those cities who want them. Oakland would be happy for a Lacob- Fisher rebuilding of the complex...no huge environmental hurdles...everything rubber stamped. So instead they for one,never talk to each other (nothing so far reported) and second Lacob wants near downtown SF! If Joe would listen me..he would have been a bay area icon by now. I say humbly.

devnull

"I say humbly." Funniest thing you've said in weeks. :-)

John Sports

Very well said Stan, and is just me or does something feel fishy about this...It all comes across a little Knee-Jerk, like maybe they have not done all their Home work. If there is one thing I know real well is Construction, and to get something built of this MAGNITUDE in SF takes more than a dream and a Kiss-Ass press conference, can't wait to hear about the environmental report.

Stan

Filling in the bay? Rachel Carson and John Muir will rise from their graves...

Stan

And if Lacob envisions filling the bay to make room for 20,000 parked cars? Its a dead plan. That wont happen. I don't know what Lee was thinking when he saw that drawing of a stadium off the bay. He had to know environmental groups would fight that. Man,they fight harder and spend more defending the Harbor seals and anchovies then they do the homeless admirers of Ripple in SF and Oakland...

Stan

And really-what excuse does Lacob have to build a new stadium? The Warriors sell out. Or he could build a new stadium where the old one is..just play for a season at the Cow Palace while a new Oakland stadium was built. But,I guess rich people like paying more sometimes just because they can.

Stan

I imagine the work to be done to those piers so they can hold up a few million pounds of Stadium is going to involve much dredging up of the bay's bottom. That,will release toxins and metals into the bay. I also think Lacob has only heard from engineers if it can be done..and they of course not caring about the environment said-Sure!. If Lacob had an environmental impact study done..he must have ignored them.

Stan

I saw just a very brief artist drawing of the Warriors future home..and it was an eyesore. To me it looked like a giant refinery storage tank on the edge of the bay. Unlike ATT or Candlestick,it juts out like a obtrusive archipelago...doesn't look environmentally friendly to me. It really was jarring.

Otis Byrd III

1. I'm not sure about that though, even though you do have wonder what would happen to Oracle Arena if/when the Warriors move to San Francisco. Maybe Cal. or St. Mary's could play some of their bigger basketball games there, such as when Cal plays Stanford or a big game against another Pac-12 rival, or when St. Mary's plays Gonzaga or maybe even USF, even though I'm sure Cal. and St. Mary's would try to see if they could host a game at the new San Francisco arena. It would be interesting to see if an NBA team relocates to the Bay Area and plays at Oracle, and becomes a Bay Area rival to the Warriors. But yeah, what does happen to Oracle if/when the Warriors move? 2. I agree about the traffic. It will probably be crazy, but you could also catch Muni and/or BART there. 3. I'm not sure about that as much. The Giants are/were pushing for the Warriors to build a new arena right next to AT&T Park, before the Giants started getting more involved with that Mission Rock project.... Yeah, the Giants and the Warriors will probably battle it out for ads, but I think the Giants and the Warriors will have somewhat of a partnership through this. As people have said, the Warriors basically want what the Giants have, as far as the gameday experience goes, and the Giants want the Warriors here in San Francisco. 4. That's probably the only real sad thing about all this. As a San Francisco guy, I'm all for the Warriors moving to San Francisco. You feel bad for Oakland though, because the Warriors pretty much are the best thing going for Oakland sports wise, as far as attendance and interest in the team goes. Oakland could end up losing all their teams, but hopefully the A's and/or the Raiders end up staying in Oakland. That would be funny if the A's, who seem like they want to leave Oakland the most, end up staying in Oakland? The San Jose thing might be too much for them to overcome, but we'll see. They probably might end up being forced to stay in Oakland or get an ownership group that wants the A's to stay in Oakland. The Raiders will probably stay in Oakland, even though I wouldn't be surprised if they look into possibly sharing the new Santa Clara stadium with the 49ers. Did the 49ers say that they aren't sharing the new Santa Clara stadium? I didn't hear that. I'm sure the Raiders will also look into moving back to L.A. as well, especially since the Raiders still have a huge following in L.A. When you go to L.A., it almost feels like the Raiders never left L.A. Raider gear is sold there, and you see people there wearing Raiders gear. The rapper Ice Cube who is an L.A. guy, is still a huge Raider fan. But yeah, hopefully the A's and/or the Raiders end up staying in Oakland. Even though I'm a San Francisco guy through and through, and a huge 49ers, Warriors, and Giants fan, I would feel bad for Oakland if they lost all 3 of their teams. They don't deserve that. They need to at least keep 1 or 2.

Tru

"The A’s want to go to San Jose and won’t even entertain the option of building a new park in Oakland. The Raiders, noncommittal as always, are keeping their options open — especially since the 49ers won’t be sharing their new stadium in Santa Clara." The A's won't get the territorial rights to San Jose. The Giants hold all or most of the cards and Wolff has no real power. I can see new ownership coming in at some point. The Raiders have stated publicly that Oakland is their first choice and somewhere else in the East Bay is their second. I wouldn't write off these two teams staying in the East Bay just yet. "Of all the East Bay teams, the Warriors are by far the most successful from a financial and fan-engagement standpoint." The Raiders get higher ratings and are part of the NFL, that will trump any other sports league in terms of wealth, team worth and fan interest. The A's suffer from playing in a huge stadium and were at one point the kings (shared with the 49ers) of the Bay Area, the Warriors have never had that status, though they do have the edge of being the regions only NBA team which allows them to draw from more segments of the Bay.