Chase Center

• 1. Arena Development And Design

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  The plan for building a new arena was announced on the 22nd of May 2012, at a Golden State Warriors press conference. Then-San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and NBA Commissioner David Stern stood alongside owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber to unveil the project. The initial proposal targeted Pier 30-32 along the San Francisco Bay waterfront between the Ferry Building and Oracle Park. A month after this announcement, the South Beach-Rincon-Mission Bay Neighborhood Association criticized the site. They argued that a second major league sport venue would make the area no longer family friendly. Former San Francisco mayor Art Agnos spoke to dozens of community gatherings in opposition to the proposed arena. He stated that the project was pushed by two out-of-town billionaires and would severely impact traffic and city views. On the 30th of December 2013, a ballot proposition titled the Waterfront Height Limit Right to Vote Act appeared on the June 2014 ballot as Proposition B. Its passage would have affected three major waterfront developments including the proposed Warriors arena. On the 19th of April 2014, the Warriors abandoned plans for the pier site. They purchased a 12-acre site owned by Salesforce.com at the Mission Bay neighborhood for an undisclosed amount. Construction management was handled by a joint venture between Clark Construction Group and Mortenson Construction. Jim McLamb served as project director while Vic Watson oversaw the project as vice president. Trevor DeLong acted as senior superintendent in charge of field operations. Derek Cunz led Mortenson's Sports Group involvement while Steve Dell'Orto represented Clark Construction Group. Brian Nahas served as Mortenson's senior integrated construction manager and VDC lead. Rolando Mendoza directed Virtual Design and Construction for the company. The plan for Chase Center was to have it built by 2019 before the NBA season started. Construction on the arena began in January 2017. In April 2015, the Mission Bay site faced opposition from the Mission Bay Alliance. Their complaint cited traffic, lack of parking, and use of space that could go to UCSF expansion among other things. Representatives of the project worked to address these issues such as traffic and parking to avoid the plan being voided. On the 28th of January 2016, JPMorgan Chase purchased the naming rights of the arena. The Golden State Warriors had the official groundbreaking ceremony for Chase Center on the 17th of January 2017.

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• 2. Opening Ceremonies And First Events

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  The arena had its grand opening on the 6th of September 2019, with a concert by Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony. This inaugural event drew 32,708 attendees and generated $4,132,350 in revenue. The first preseason game at Chase Center took place on the 5th of October 2019, as the Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 123, 101. The Warriors played their first regular season game there with a 141, 122 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on the 24th of October 2019. Dave Matthews Band performed on the 10th of September 2019, drawing 9,870 fans for their North American Summer Tour 2019. Eric Clapton appeared on the 11th of September 2019, during his World Tour (2019) with Jimmie Vaughan. Carlos Santana made a surprise appearance during that show. Bon Iver performed on the 12th of September 2019, with Sharon van Etten as an opening act. Elton John played two shows on September 13 and 15, 2019, as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. These performances drew 28,380 total attendees and earned $4,374,647. John Mayer headlined on the 16th of September 2019, with 13,189 attendees generating $1,700,453 in revenue. Janet Jackson celebrated her Rhythm Nation 30th Anniversary on the 21st of September 2019, with 13,255 fans attending. The Black Keys performed on the 20th of November 2019, while Cher appeared on the 21st of November 2019, with Nile Rodgers and Chic. Bad Bunny played on the 24th of November 2019, drawing 16,387 people for his X100Pre Tour. Dead & Company performed two nights on the 30th of December 2019, and the 1st of January 2020, with 30,244 total attendees earning $4,184,642.

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• 3. Relocation Controversy And Community Impact

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  Many longtime Oakland residents felt that constructing a new arena for the Warriors is a manifestation of the phenomenon of gentrification. Additionally, many who supported the Warriors throughout their years at Oracle Arena feel betrayed by the team's decision to relocate to San Francisco. There is also the issue of public costs associated with the new arena, both in San Francisco and Oakland. In the 2018 San Francisco elections, Proposition I was placed on the ballot as an initiative to discourage the relocation of established sports teams. This measure directly responded to the proposed move of the Warriors from Oakland to San Francisco. Though meant to block the move, the terms of this proposed law were non-binding. Proposition I was defeated on the 5th of June 2018 after receiving 97,863 votes for the measure compared with 130,916 votes against. The Mission Bay Alliance opposed the project in April 2015 citing traffic and lack of parking. They argued the arena would be located near UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital and create more traffic. Former mayor Art Agnos spoke to dozens of community gatherings stating the project was pushed by two out-of-town billionaires. He claimed it would severely impact traffic and city views. The South Beach-Rincon-Mission Bay Neighborhood Association criticized the initial site choice saying it would make the area no longer family friendly. The Warriors had played home games at Oakland Arena from 1971 until 2019 except during 1996-97 when they temporarily relocated to the SAP Center in San Jose.

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• 4. Pandemic Response And Operational Challenges

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  On the 11th of March 2020, the City of San Francisco announced a temporary ban on public events and gatherings with over 1,000 people due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this ban, the Warriors announced that their home games would be played without fans beginning with the March 12 game against the Brooklyn Nets. However, that same day one day before the game was scheduled to be played, the NBA announced that it would indefinitely suspend the rest of the 2019, 20 season due to the outbreak after Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. At a concert by the band Phish on the 17th of October 2021, an individual fell from an upper level of Chase Center and died from his injuries. Two other fans were also injured in a fall incident at the venue during the same concert and both survived with non-life-threatening injuries. Several Phish fans who attended the band's two concerts at the venue told local media that they were concerned about the design and safety of barriers and railings that separated the levels of the arena. The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection inspected the arena following an anonymous complaint about the low balcony guardrails and steep staircases filed after the concert. On October 21, building inspectors deemed Chase Center to be compliant with city building codes.

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• 5. Major Sporting Tournaments And Leagues

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  The arena hosted the 2025 NBA All-Star Game on the 16th of February 2025. The University of San Francisco men's and women's basketball teams play a game at Chase Center annually. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced San Francisco as the host city for the West Regional semifinals and finals of the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on March 24 and 26, 2022. The arena was selected to host the West Regional semifinals and finals for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2025 and 2028. On the 9th of November 2019, Stanford Cardinal Women defeated San Francisco Dons Women 97, 71 before 3,025 attendees. The 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament saw Arkansas Razorbacks beat Gonzaga Bulldogs 74, 68 with 17,514 fans present. Duke Blue Devils then defeated Texas Tech Red Raiders 78, 70 before 17,739 spectators. The 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament featured Florida Gators beating Maryland Terrapins 87, 71 with 16,417 attendees. The Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League play one home game per season at Chase Center. The venue also hosts Golden State Valkyries games of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). During Valkyries games, Chase Center is nicknamed Ballhalla, a reference to Valhalla of Norse mythology where Valkyries would bring select fallen warriors.

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• 6. Concert History And Musical Performances

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  The arena hosted Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony on the 6th of September 2019, drawing 32,708 attendees and generating $4,132,350 in revenue. Dave Matthews Band performed on the 10th of September 2019, with 9,870 fans attending their North American Summer Tour 2019. Eric Clapton appeared on the 11th of September 2019, during his World Tour (2019) with Jimmie Vaughan. Carlos Santana made a surprise appearance during that show. Bon Iver played on the 12th of September 2019, with Sharon van Etten as an opening act. Elton John headlined two shows on September 13 and 15, 2019, earning $4,374,647 from 28,380 total attendees. John Mayer drew 13,189 people for his Summer Tour 2019 on the 16th of September 2019. Janet Jackson celebrated her Rhythm Nation 30th Anniversary on the 21st of September 2019, with 13,255 fans attending. Bad Bunny performed on the 24th of November 2019, drawing 16,387 people for his X100Pre Tour. Dead & Company played two nights on the 30th of December 2019, and the 1st of January 2020, with 30,244 total attendees earning $4,184,642. The venue hosted the 2022 League of Legends World Championship final on the 5th of November 2022. Championship Sunday for the 2026 Pokémon World Championships will be held at the arena on the 30th of August 2026 after the first two days at the Moscone Center. The 2025 Laver Cup took place at Chase Center from September 19 to 21, 2025.

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