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Phil Matier: Warriors' Arena Plans May Be Changed Following Toilet Comparisons

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - An initial artist rendering of the new basketball arena proposed for the Golden State Warriors, in Mission Bay rather than along the waterfront, have invited some unwelcome comparisons, but the team is a long way from flushing the toilet bowl design.

Warriors spokesman PJ Johnston told the San Jose Mercury News the viral response to the design was 'unfortunate.'

"I guess that's the perils of the Internet," Johnston told the Mercury News about the reaction to the drawing, and said the design for the arena will "absolutely" change in the coming months as the the drawings were not detailed renderings.

Unlike the big splash the team made with the waterfront proposal that went down the drain, the Warriors have been slowly rolling out preliminary drawings of what would be built south of AT&T Park.

An aerial view in one of these very utilitarian renderings does indeed resemble a commode with the seat down, sunk into the ground next to two office buildings. These were drafted to look at practical concerns such as wind and roadway congestion.

Warriors' New SF Arena Resembles A Certain Bathroom Fixture

Then Sports Illustrated got on it, ESPN got on it, and snarky commentaries all over the web have followed, leaving the team to figure out how to bring some glamour back to yet another arena proposal getting panned.

Even as team officials figure out how to live down the toilet bowl design, their architects and engineers still have a lot to figure out when it comes to traffic plumbing at the new site.

Problems in the new location could come from a UCSF hospital just down the block that is expanding, not far from another big development at Pier 70. The Warriors Mission Bay site has few traffic options as this up and coming area of San Francisco attracts mega-projects.

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