Warriors’ Move to San Francisco
Buzzer-beating three for San Fran; final-second brick for O-Town
By Tamryn Spruill
The Golden State Warriors’ move from Oakland to San Francisco is another case of sports-related excess that fortifies an already-strong city, while simultaneously thrusting onto shakier ground -- the city being left behind.
Without a doubt, the Golden State Warriors have concluded the best back-to-back seasons in the franchise’s history, winning the NBA Championship in 2015 and completing a 73-win season in 2016. For the owners, the opportunity to move into a new, state-of-the-art facility in San Francisco is golden. But leaving Oracle Arena behind means leaving workers in Oakland without jobs, in a city already facing double-digit unemployment. According to an April 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, Oakland currently struggles under an 18.9% unemployment rate, while San Francisco’s unemployment numbers – thanks to the sustained success of the tech industry – hold steady at 8.9%.
If, by some random act of corporate altruism, Chase Center extends employment offers to soon-to-be-former Oracle employees, these workers would still be burdened by the added cost of a commute. For low-wage workers who perhaps manage multiple jobs, this, no doubt, would be a hardship. But it would be unrealistic to expect Chase Center to staff its arena with those living in San Francisco proper. As it is, teachers earning $75,000 per year cannot afford to live in San Francisco, and the long commutes from the outer suburbs are causing educators to flee school districts in droves.
Chase Center boasts an “18,000-seat [arena that] will anchor a district of 11 acres of restaurants, cafes, offices, public plazas and other amenities the [Mission Bay] neighborhood currently lacks, along with a new five-and-a half-acre public waterfront park.” A selling point focused on a boon for leisure economy businesses only emphasizes that, in the wake of the team’s departure from Oracle, the Warriors will leave Oakland in a state of bust.
LeRoy Brooks, a finance professor at the John Carroll University Boler School of Business, has deemed this “the LeBron Effect,” noting that LeBron James’s departure for Miami resulted in Cleveland hotels, bars, restaurants, and shops losing an estimated $48 million in annual revenue. It is difficult to imagine that jobs-deprived Oakland will not suffer a similar fate. The Warriors’ move to San Francisco may be a buzzer-beating three for San Francisco. But, for Oakland, it’s surely a final-second brick and a point in the loss column.
It’s awesome to see the Warriors thriving. But it’s hard to celebrate the team’s move to San Francisco when its departure will leave such a gaping hole in the Oakland economy.
By Tamryn Spruill
The Golden State Warriors’ move from Oakland to San Francisco is another case of sports-related excess that fortifies an already-strong city, while simultaneously thrusting onto shakier ground -- the city being left behind.
Without a doubt, the Golden State Warriors have concluded the best back-to-back seasons in the franchise’s history, winning the NBA Championship in 2015 and completing a 73-win season in 2016. For the owners, the opportunity to move into a new, state-of-the-art facility in San Francisco is golden. But leaving Oracle Arena behind means leaving workers in Oakland without jobs, in a city already facing double-digit unemployment. According to an April 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, Oakland currently struggles under an 18.9% unemployment rate, while San Francisco’s unemployment numbers – thanks to the sustained success of the tech industry – hold steady at 8.9%.
If, by some random act of corporate altruism, Chase Center extends employment offers to soon-to-be-former Oracle employees, these workers would still be burdened by the added cost of a commute. For low-wage workers who perhaps manage multiple jobs, this, no doubt, would be a hardship. But it would be unrealistic to expect Chase Center to staff its arena with those living in San Francisco proper. As it is, teachers earning $75,000 per year cannot afford to live in San Francisco, and the long commutes from the outer suburbs are causing educators to flee school districts in droves.
Chase Center boasts an “18,000-seat [arena that] will anchor a district of 11 acres of restaurants, cafes, offices, public plazas and other amenities the [Mission Bay] neighborhood currently lacks, along with a new five-and-a half-acre public waterfront park.” A selling point focused on a boon for leisure economy businesses only emphasizes that, in the wake of the team’s departure from Oracle, the Warriors will leave Oakland in a state of bust.
LeRoy Brooks, a finance professor at the John Carroll University Boler School of Business, has deemed this “the LeBron Effect,” noting that LeBron James’s departure for Miami resulted in Cleveland hotels, bars, restaurants, and shops losing an estimated $48 million in annual revenue. It is difficult to imagine that jobs-deprived Oakland will not suffer a similar fate. The Warriors’ move to San Francisco may be a buzzer-beating three for San Francisco. But, for Oakland, it’s surely a final-second brick and a point in the loss column.
It’s awesome to see the Warriors thriving. But it’s hard to celebrate the team’s move to San Francisco when its departure will leave such a gaping hole in the Oakland economy.