The Golden State Warriors have, officially, secured a place for their champions to "come out to play," purchasing from Salesforce the 12-acre Mission Bay site for their proposed $1 billion development, just half-a-mile from AT&T Park.
The Business Times and the NBA reported on the done deal, the terms of which are undisclosed but which likely cost the team $150 million according to an estimate from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. That company bought the property in 2010 as part of a $278 million purchase of 14 acres planned for their headquarters.
The Warriors already deposited $30 million to Salesforce in April, but add to that the high price of conciliating the Mission Bay Alliance, a group of UCSF professors past and present, as well as former administrators, the UCSF hospitals' nurses union, and many UCSF benefactors represented by PR pro Sam Singer that's pledged to challenge the development's environmental impact report, perhaps via lawsuit, "until the cows come home."
The Alliance's complaints of a stadium that would further disrupt traffic near the hospital led to a new deal reported last week by the Chronicle, which calls for a $10 million annual Mission Bay Transportation Improvement Fund. Those funds will be used toward traffic management, with dedicated traffic control officers on duty and designated UCSF traffic lanes for hospital vehicles.
Though the agreement bought UCSF's official support for the stadium, the Mission Bay Alliance could still rebound to block the 18,050-seat arena, which comes flanked by two office towers and a retail and restaurant development the size of Union Square.
UCSF thought-influencers (and Mayor-whisperers) Ron Conway and Marc Benioff have expressed staunch support for the stadium throughout the heated debate.
Great job @RonConway Defends Warriors Arena, Mission Bay Alliance Consultant Calls Him 'Bag Of Crap': SFist http://t.co/MXuDrpyr4d
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) May 1, 2015
"The Warriors are making an unprecedented, $1 billion-plus investment in San Francisco," said Warriors President and COO Rick Welts in a statement. "We're the only sports team in America doing this all with private funds, on private land, with no public subsidy."
In January the Warriors showed off models of the new arena like the one above to season ticket holders, whetting their appetites and allowing them to select their seats. The team would like to have those ready for spectators by the tipoff of the 2018-19 NBA season.
Previously: First (Computer-Generated) Tour Of The New Warriors Arena
