City officials release environmental impact report on proposed Warriors arena
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) -- The City of San Francisco released a draft environmental impact report on the future site of the Golden State Warriors Arena on Friday, a report which was quickly met with criticism from opponents.
The proposed site is located in San Francisco's Mission Bay District near 16th Street and 3rd Street and is aiming to open by the 2018-2019 Warriors regular season. The site is located on private property and the $6.6 million needed to construct will also be privately funded, according to city officials.
Adam Van de Water with San Francisco's Office of Economic and Workforce Development said the proposed arena has a LEED Gold Design, will have no net greenhouse gas emissions, and seat approximately 18,000 people. Nearby AT&T Park seats about 42,000 people.
The city also looked at worst case scenarios of traffic, parking and noise should ever a concert or a Warriors game overlap with a Giants game.
It is why city officials plan to use revenue from the project to invest $39.7 million of improvements to the transit network serving the neighborhood.
"That will include extra trains, extra buses, extra parking control officers, traffic management signals," said Peter Albert of the SFMTA.
In addition, projects like the central subway system and the Transbay Terminal should be completed in the next three to five years. The arena itself should have access to about 950 parking spots for those who must drive.
"We're still looking to develop south of the site from the background p.m. commute traffic that everyone is familiar with along the 80 corridor near south of Market," Van de Water said.
Residents who live in the area have mixed feelings. Some said the Warriors have done outreach in the last couple of months causing excitement in the neighborhood. Others have fears about the traffic and congestion.
It's also a big concern for opponents of the project like the Mission Bay Alliance. Spokesman Sam Singer said the congestion and noise will wreak havoc on patients and researchers at the nearby UCSF Mission Bay hospitals.
"This stadium is the equivalent of trying to jam an elephant into a VW [car]," Singer said. "It just won't fit and it won't be good for the neighborhood."
He also said the hospitals are filled with people with life threatening diseases and they need quiet.
A spokeswoman for UCSF released a statement to KTVU which in part reads:
"…UCSF remains supportive of the proposed Warriors Stadium at Mission Bay, as long as traffic can be managed to ensure the safety of the patients, visitors and health care workers in the Mission Bay hospitals."
"We're proud of this project," Van de Water said. "It's 13 months in the making and over 800 pages of detailed analysis. We stand behind it."
People now have a 45-day comment period to voice their concerns to the city. Officials said they plan to listen to the suggestions and continue to look for alternatives to meet the needs of everyone in the neighborhood before a final draft is completed by the fall of this year.