Warriors Announced Arena Naming Rights Deal; Opponents Say Not So Fast
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – The NBA champion Golden State Warriors announced a multi-million-dollar arena naming rights deal Thursday with JP Morgan Chase, but opponents to the new facility say its construction is still in doubt.
The 20-year naming rights deal would put the name JP Morgan Chase on the Warriors' new arena slated for construction in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood.
"Live from Chase Center in San Francisco! How's that sound?!" enthused the team's Co-Executive Chairman Peter Guber at the announcement event held at the Masonic.
The Chase Center will be the largest indoor venue in San Francisco, hosting an estimated 200 events per year.
"The news we get to share with you today is gratifying in part because it has not been an easy journey to get here," said Warriors President Rick Welts.
But the plan has been halted by a lawsuit from area residents who are complaining that the new 18,000-seat arena will create traffic congestion in an area which is also home to medical facilities associated with the University of California.
"We believe the arena is far from a done deal and that any announcement about the naming rights to an arena in Mission Bay is premature," said the opposition group – The Mission Bay Alliance – in a news release.
"The Mission Bay Alliance is concerned the arena will cause great harm to San Francisco by jeopardizing patient access to hospitals and risking lives. It would also create major traffic jams and interfere with the long-range land use plans for Mission Bay as the biotechnology hub of San Francisco," the release read.
The team purchased the property at Third and 16th Street in 2014 and has spent two years winning the approval from local officials. The San Francisco Board Of Supervisors have unanimously approved the plan.
Because of the legal challenge, the team has announced it would delay leaving Oakland for the new arena until the 2019-2020 NBA season. That was one year longer than they expected.
The Warriors predict the new arena -- to be named the Chase Center -- will anchor an area that will contain 11 acres of restaurants, cafes, offices and public plazas.
"Today is a great day, not only for San Francisco, but for the entire Bay Area community," said Joe Lacob, Co-Executive Chairman and CEO, GSW Arena LLC in a prepared statement. "Chase Center will be the best sports, entertainment and convention destination in the world, and our partnership with JPMorgan Chase is key to getting this privately financed venue built."
Family man and NBA MVP Steph Curry said his daughter Riley will be the first one in line if "Disney on Ice" comes to town. He also said having a state-of-the-art arena to hopefully bring home more championships "will be fun, too."
"To involve the family with amazing talents it'll bring in, enjoy the SF Bay Area culture, take my daughters to those kinds of things, that'll be special," said Curry.
While the duration of the deal was announced, the actual cost was not. Sports business experts say such deals generally range in price from between $1.5 million-$2 million a season.
