Bay Area sports enthusiasts got really excited when word got out that the Warriors were at least in talks with San Francisco and the San Francisco Giants about building a brand spankin' new arena right next to AT&T Park on the ballpark's parking lot. The Warriors lease with Oakland's Oracle Arena (fun fact: it's the NBA's oldest functioning facility) will be up right before the 2016-2017 season, and the Warriors are fixing to build a new stadium in Oakland or San Francisco. All of the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit for an arena next to AT&T Park, so imagine our surprise when, last week, The Giants revealed its proposals for the Mission Rock Plan. It doesn't feature a 20,000-seat arena. Instead, it's a $1.6B plan to develop the area into residential and office towers, plus spaces for public gatherings. "If there's a plan for an arena, we'll work with them, but now we're going forward," Larry Baer, the president and CEO of the Giants told the Chronicle.
Now comes word from the Chronicle's Matier and Ross that the Warriors are taking a pass. The basketball team is considering going with a different plot of land, specifically Piers 30-32, right on the waterfront. A source familiar with the plans told the Chronicle that "this is an ownership group that is pretty bold and visionary, and the prospect of doing something grand is really alluring to them." The source also said that the Warriors "do not want the Giants to be their middleman."
· The San Francisco Warriors [Curbed SF]
· Giants' Mission Rock plan is in city's ballpark [SFGate]
· Mission Rock With More Grass, Less Parking [Curbed SF]
· Warriors pass up S.F. Giants' arena offer [SFGate]
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