Golden State Warriors

Warriors 'look forward to breaking ground' on new arena after favorable court ruling

Published Dec. 9, 2016 12:30 p.m. ET

Nunzio Ingrassia

The Golden State Warriors announced Tuesday that the team will be moving forward with their plans to build a new venue in San Francisco after the Warriors' environmental impact report (EIR) was upheld by a California court of appeals.

“We’re very pleased by the Appellate Court’s ruling,” Warriors COO Rick Welts said in a statement. “We engaged in an extensive public planning process and we were approved by every board, agency and regulatory body we went before.”

Opponents had argued that the EIR was flawed and reportedly didn't account for the rise in traffic and noise issues in the area.

The Chase Center is expected to open for the start of the 2019-20 season. The 18,000-seat arena will be located in Mission Bay, returning the team's home games to San Francisco for the first time since 1972. The Warriors currently play in Oakland at Oracle Arena.

Welts said the court’s ruling paves the way for the organization to break ground on the project.

“This decision clears the path for us to build a new state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue and bring the Warriors back home to San Francisco.

“We look forward to breaking ground soon.”