The Golden State Warriors took another step ahead yesterday with the approval of the environmental impact plans for their planned Mission Bay arena. However, that doesn't mean that their opponents have gone down in defeat quite yet. The Mission Bay Alliance, a set of stakeholders who are adamantly against the arena, still has until November 13 to file an appeal of the impact report. They've also talked about putting up legal challenges. The alliance's pushback against the arena is based on concerns over traffic in the area that could present threats to ambulances and other patients trying to get to nearby UCSF hospitals.
The Mission Bay Alliance commissioned an analysis that found that an alternative use for the arena site—say, a biotech campus—would bring in $40 million more in revenue for the city than an arena. But attendees of the environmental hearing yesterday were having none of it, and were strongly pro-arena, according to the San Francisco Business Times. The next steps are a Board of Supervisors vote on a transportation improvement fund and the design approval of the planned office towers.
· Warriors Score Critical Win for New Arena, But Bigger Fight Looms [SF Business Times]
· Previous Coverage of the Warriors Arena [Curbed SF]