The Warriors have released updated renderings of their potential arena on the San Francisco waterfront. It's tough to give the interior of a basketball arena much character, but if the final product looks anything like the preliminary designs, this one is going to be sweet.
Nothing's set in stone, but the Warriors' lease at the 47-year-old Oracle Arena is up after the 2017 season, and all the momentum seems to be moving toward a 17,500-seat arena across the bay, along the Embarcadero. It'll be a massive project—a rebuilt pier, public plazas, 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, condominiums, parking, even a kayak launch—with a price tag of around $1 billion. With so many moving parts, it's hard to tell who'll be paying for what, but the Warriors will be receiving upwards of $100 million in rent credits, real estate give-backs, and an unproven subsidy called tax increment financing. It's a good deal for the city compared to other recently funded arenas around the country, but it's still remarkably risky.
But all that has yet to be hashed out—now's the time for dreaming. Before the buzz-killing realities of cost and feasibility set in, let's enjoy these renderings of the arena, released yesterday by the Warriors.