The Golden State Warriors officially announced today that their planned new arena in San Francisco will be named Chase Center.
The financial services firm JPMorgan Chase paid for naming rights for 20 years at the 18,000-seat arena proposed to be built at Third and 16th streets in the city’s Mission Bay neighborhood.
“Chase Center will be the best sports, entertainment and convention destination in the world, and our partnership with JPMorgan Chase is key to getting this privately financed venue built,” Warriors co-executive chairman Joe Lacob said in a statement.
The arena is set to open in time for the 2019-20 NBA season and will anchor an 11-acre district that will include restaurants, cafes, office space, a 5.5-acre waterfront park, public plazas and other amenities, team officials said.
The Warriors, who currently play at Oracle Arena in Oakland, announced earlier this week that they had to delay the arena plans for a year to 2019 because of pending litigation filed by opponents of the project.
The Mission Bay Alliance, the group opposing the arena, has argued that the arena will cause major traffic delays in the area, which includes UCSF’s Mission Bay campus and its new medical center.
The group issued a statement following today’s naming rights announcement.
“We believe the arena is far from a done deal and that any announcement about the naming rights to an arena in Mission Bay is premature,” the group said. “The Mission Bay Alliance is concerned the arena will cause great harm to San Francisco by jeopardizing patient access to hospitals and risking lives.”
The Warriors are the defending NBA champions and currently lead the league with a 42-4 record this season.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
