Warriors, Sharks pledge aid to workers
For hundreds and hundreds of Chase Center and SAP Center workers — from security guards, ushers, custodians, vendors and more — help is on the way.
On Friday, the Warriors announced team owners, players and coaches will make a donation of $1 million to aid employees at the San Francisco arena unable to work while the NBA season is suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also Friday, it was announced part-time employees who were scheduled to work Sharks and Barracuda games at San Jose’s SAP Center in March will be compensated by Sharks Sports & Entertainment.
The NBA announced this week that the 2019-20 season would be suspended until further notice, putting the Warriors’ seven games remaining at Chase Center in peril.
The NHL also is shut down indefinitely. The Sharks were scheduled to play three home games this month, facing the Montreal Canadiens next Thursday, the Boston Bruins on March 21 and the Arizona Coyotes on March 29. The Barracuda, the Sharks’ AHL
affiliate, was scheduled to play at home on Tuesday and on March 20.
One Chase Center parttime ticket seller, Carlos Ruiz, 21, said though he understood the decision to suspend the season, he was frightened when he learned it would cost him his $20 per hour wage.
“I’m very happy,” Ruiz said after learning about the Warriors’ donation. “I’m not surprised that they’re doing such a kindness because it’s a great organization overall — and I don’t have to say that.”
Before the league suspended play, the Warriors announced they intended to play games in the arena without fans after the city banned events in which more than 1,000 people were assembled. That ban still applies to multiple concerts that have now been canceled.
“The last few days have been extremely challenging for all Bay Area citizens as we deal with the hourly changes in this unprecedented situation,” Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob said in a statement. “We are addressing the potential hardships these hard-working individuals may encounter during this hiatus in the NBA season. While everyone and every business is impacted, those who are fortunate enough to be in a position to help, need to help.”
Warriors star Stephen Curry said in a statement, “The men and women who work our games at Chase Center are critical in providing an incredible gamenight experience for our fans, including of course, the popcorn vendors. As players, we wanted to do something, along with our ownership and coaches, to help ease the pain during this time.”
The Warriors also plan to create a community fund to which people can contribute to those affected by the shutdown of the NBA schedule and San Francisco’s ban on concerts and large assemblies.
Among other teams in the NBA, the Kings, Mavericks and Pelicans indicated they are working on plans to compensate arena workers. More may follow suit.
Also Friday night, Curry and wife Ayesha released a video asking fans to join in support for the kids of the Oakland Unified School District who rely on receiving meals from their schools. The district is closing for an unknown period of time due to coronavirus spread, and those kids may be at risk of missing meals.
The video called for donations to the Alameda County Community Food Bank to support those students. The goal, according to the donation page, is to reach 1 million meals for these students.
“The statistics are really staggering: 18,000 kids rely on at least two meals a day from the school system. So we want to make sure that we rally around everyone and ensure that these kids are not wondering where their next meal is coming from, and that the parents who — some are still having to go to work, worrying about the kids’ logistics — we just want to make sure that there’s one less thing to worry about,” Ayesha said.