Warriors prepare for bittersweet move across the bay
OAKLAND, CALIF. (AP) >> If anybody understands an arena’s link to a city, to a faithful fan base, Kevin Durant does.
Durant played the final NBA game in KeyArena for the Seattle SuperSonics a decade ago before the franchise’s relocation to Oklahoma City, then returned for a nostalgic exhibition earlier this month in the venue’s final event. On Tuesday night, he will play an opener against his former Thunder team to begin Golden State’s goodbye season at Oracle Arena.
The two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP wants to make sure the Warriors leave more positive memories and defining moments before next year’s move to new Chase Center in San Francisco.
“Luckily we’re not moving to the middle of the country, we’re moving across a 20- to 30-minute drive,” Durant said, “so hopefully that’s a little better for fans to take.”
The Warriors’ pending move comes amid a recent spate of upgrades for NBA franchises.
In Milwaukee, the Bucks will try to build momentum in their new downtown Fiserv Forum next door to the old Bradley Center where they spent the past 30 years. The Timberwolves will play in new-look Target Center following a two-year renovation that cost about $140 million and features a complete overhaul of the arena bowl, a glass entryway outside and other amenities such as a modernized team store and concession stands.
The Sacramento Kings begin their third season in sparkling Golden 1 Center.
Bucks coach Mike Buden- holzer was an assistant in San Antonio when the Spurs moved from the Alamodome to a new basketball- only arena in 2002.
“There’s nothing like having a great home atmosphere, having great energy in the building,” Budenholzer said. “There’s no doubt you go into certain cities in the NBA, you know that the crowd is going to be on top of you, the crowd is going to be loud. You have a tough night as a team because of that crowd.”
In Atlanta, Hawks will unveil their $192.5 million makeover of State Farm Arena, formerly Philips Arena. The Hawks say the renovation, which overlapped two seasons, is one of the largest in NBA history. Among the most com- pelling new features in the arena — in which capacity has been slightly reduced to 16,600 — will be the league’s third-largest center-hung scoreboard with a rounded, 360-degree video screen.
Golden State’s move across San Francisco Bay will be a tough one for many. Fans, players, coaches, even executives, realize how much the Warriors have done for the East Bay in nearly five decades at Oracle. Even through all the down years.
In blue- collar Oakland and right off one of California’s busiest freeways, Oracle has become one of the most imposing stops for opponents on either coast — the frenzied crowd cheering the talented Warriors makes its presence felt.
“It’s still tough for us moving out of Oakland,” Durant said. “But we’re just trying to come out this season and let them know that even though we’re moving we’re still going to be here in the Bay Area, we’re still going to be your team and hopefully people understand that and realize we’re still going to be the Bay Area’s team no matter if we’re playing in San Jose, Oakland or San Francisco.”
The Warriors are offering a similar message: “We’re leaving a building, we’re not leaving a city.”
That’s the motto COO and President Rick Welts is sharing as Golden State, winner of three titles over the past four years, prepares to move into that snazzy, privately funded new arena. Welts hopes fans will stick it out through the transition — realizing full well some might feel abandoned.
“When we talk about the magic of Oracle, the magic of Oracle is the people that are in Oracle,” Welts said. “And to know that four out of five of those people are coming to Chase Center it’s one other element of wanting to maintain that incredible atmosphere that we have.”
From all the down years to the thrilling “We Believe” playoffs of 2007 when Baron Davis and the Warriors ended a 12-year postseason drought then stunned the Mavericks in the first round, loyal fans in the East Bay have experienced all the highs right along with the lowest of lows.
One of the arena’s loudest moments ever was when Davis drove left to the baseline for a powerful onehanded slam over Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko during a 125-105 Game 3 victory in the Western Conference semifinals, Golden State’s lone win of that series.