The Golden Era For The Golden State Warriors
According to the financial magazine Forbes, the Golden State Warriors are the third-most valuable team in NBA for the first time in history, behind the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Golden State Warriors have been valued around $2.6 billion, with $412 million estimated in sport, $1.1 billion in Market, $681 million in the arena and $423 million in brand.
Partly thanks to the great season last year with 73 regular season wins, the Warriors moved up from the sixth position to third, increasing their value by almost $700 million. The franchise posted the highest average cable television rating (9.8) during the 2015-16 season, more than double the previous year.
In general, the NBA is a body that enriches the owners. The only exceptions are represented by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, with the latter that, despite their championship, closed with a deficit of $40M. These teams closed in the red mainly for the heavy salary cap situation that didn’t allow them to tie the revenues.
For the Warriors, the biggest deal for the future will come from their new arena. Golden State is scheduled to play in San Francisco starting with the 2019-2020 season in the first 100 percent privately financed sports arena. The new stadium will be named Chase Stadium, bonding the name of the Arena to the sponsor for the next 20 years.
The Warriors are currently playing in Oracle Arena in Oakland. The neighborhood is well-serviced, with BART service and a big parking space that allows the fans to reach the stadium. The seasonal tickets wait list is at 32,000, with a renewal rate around the 99.5 percent. The trend has been confirmed although the team announced the invoices for next year will increase by at least 15 percent.
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During last year’s playoffs, the Warriors hosted 14 games and earned around $10 million per game during the Finals. This is a big deal, no doubt. But the team is ready for the new step now. In January, the Golden State Warriors won the legal battle against the Mission Bay Alliance, the organization that fought the project and that includes the University of California, San Francisco staff and donors. The court decided there is no reason because the stadium could have an impact on traffic or the environment.
The new stadium will rise 5.5 miles from the Cow Palace, the original home when the Warriors moved to Bay Area from Philadelphia. The new stadium will have 950 parking spaces, not so much if you think the arena will hold 18,000 fans. But supporters will be able to reach the place using the BART (a little longer trip compared to the Coliseum and the Oracle Arena) and the CalTrain. The project includes a new MUNI stop reserved to the stadium, as well.
But the new construction also proposes several innovations, regarding the experience. The front office has announced that fans will be able to interact with data and statistics during the game and that they will find different kind of food and dining options.
The new stadium could hurt people who live in Oakland. They may find their city without both their basketball and football team in a matter of years. In fact, the Raiders are reported to try to move in Las Vegas and, according to the sources, the team has already filled out the paperwork. It’s a bad situation, but for the football team there is still a hope.
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But the Warriors started their move long time ago. In the mind of owner Joe Lacob, San Francisco has been always a goal. And, in evidence to this, there is the choice to exhume the “City” vintage jersey last season. The marketing team preferred to recover an old jersey with a San Francisco name, instead of creating a sort of “Throwback” dedicated to Oakland, maybe with a “Town” sign.
Some fans would even want the team, in changing locations, to decide to take back the old denomination, changing from “Golden State” to “San Francisco”, the name of the team during the 60’s when they played in the City. This is just the last step of a long process begun a long time ago and that goes beyond the rings. The Warriors are currently an economical powerful reality, and nothing looks to stop the hike.