The Warriors plan to open their new Mission Bay arena for the 2018-19 season, but they have litigation to wade through in order to hit their mark.
Opponents of the proposed arena on Thursday filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court trying to block the project, claiming that it "ignored crippling traffic and other environmental impacts in violation of California environmental laws."
The opponents include the Mission Bay Alliance and Jennifer Wade, the mother of a six-year-old boy with a heart condition.
“The City has avoided a thorough analysis of the project by relying on environmental review documents from 18 years ago,” said Osha Meserve, an attorney representing the Mission Bay Alliance. “This strategy not only deprives the public of knowing the arena’s true impact — it violates CEQA’s core requirements.”
In response, the Warriors released the following statement:
"During three years of intense public scrutiny, the Warriors arena won approval from 100% of boards, agencies and commissions that considered the matter: the Board of Supervisors, the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, the Mission Bay Citizens Advisory Committee, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and the Planning, Entertainment, Port and Public Utilities Commissions.
"The decision of our elected leaders to bring the Warriors home to San Francisco will be upheld by the courts, and this frivolous lawsuit brought by a secretive group of wealthy donors will fail."
