Warriors’ rent at Oracle to rise by $1 million

Even the Warriors aren’t safe from Bay Area rent increases.

The NBA team will receive a rent boost of 67 percent — that’s $1 million — to continue playing at publicly owned Oracle Arena under a contract expected to get its final approval next week.

The new, two-year agreement brings the team’s rent to $2.5 million beginning next season and includes additional exit fees, up to $2.5 million, should the Warriors not exercise oneyear extensions of the lease.

The contract requires the team to stay in Oakland for at least two more seasons while its arena in San Francisco’s Mission Bay is built. The agreement got unanimous approval from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Authority last month and from the Oakland City Council on Tuesday night. Now, it awaits the OK from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, which is expected to approve it next week.

The Warriors have agreed to the rent increase.

“This is an exhilarating time in the history of our franchise and we’re pleased to have reached an agreement in principle that will enable the Warriors to continue to play in Oracle Arena for the next two seasons . ... The increase in rent is simply a part of doing business and, at the end of the day, it’s a win-win for everyone — the Warriors, the (Coliseum Authority), the City and the County,” Warriors President Rick Welts said in a statement.

Council President Larry Reid, vice chair of the Coliseum Authority, said that some city and county officials initially had concerns about the lease extension but that those problems have since been eliminated.

The Warriors, he said, are “just waiting for the public entities to take action. They’re waiting on us to get this thing done.”

“I truly appreciate Rick Welts and the ownership of the Warriors for hearing the concerns raised by the city and county,” Reid added. He did not say what those worries were.

In the new agreement, if the team stays only two more seasons, its exit fee will be $2.5 million. If it stays three more, the fee drops to $1.5 million. With four more seasons, the departure bill would be $500,000. And if it stays five more seasons, there won’t be an exit fee.

The current contract, under which the team pays $1.5 million in rent, expires June 30.

Everything in the old deal, except the rent and exit fees, will remain in place for the new one. That includes naming rights and the $7.5 million the team contributes each year to paying off bond debt used to renovate the facility 20 years ago.