KCBS Cover Story: Some SF Residents Oppose Warriors Move
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – The plan for the Golden State Warriors to relocate to San Francisco is getting some push back from people who live in the area where the team plans to build a new arena.
For the last 10 years, 67-year-old Lawrence Stokus has lived in an apartment building right across the Embarcadero from Piers 30 and 32.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
From his rooftop deck, there are sweeping views of the Bay Bridge and across the Bay to Oakland. But if the proposed Warriors arena becomes a reality, that would all change.
"This stadium is immense. It is going to be nine stories tall," said Stokus. "We're standing out looking at the Bay Bridge right now. The top of the stadium will be a little bit below the lower deck of the Bay Bridge."
In a one and a half page open letter to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Stokus, a retired mortgage banker, said the project is just too big for the residential neighborhood.
He proposed building across McCovey Cove from AT&T Park and turning the piers into open space.
"You would basically have a park that is larger than the Marina Green, but we think just as spectacular," he said.
Lee said he received Stokus' letter and plans to make sure that all nearby residents are heard as the design process moves forward.
"The Warriors are very open to all the suggestions that we have, but we think we picked a good location for this to happen," Lee said. "As we evolve the design, they're going to see a lot of open space in and around the area."
Stokus said neighbors are beginning to mobilize as a meeting is set for next Monday.
He said he expects that a group will be formed dedicated to building a park on the site, which he said would mean two competing plans for land development.
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