Warriors won’t be Giants’ next-door neighbor

From the moment the current Warriors owners took over the team, there have been rumblings they wanted to move the team to San Francisco as soon as they could.

Some like the idea. Some hate the idea. I love it.

For the last few months, everything we heard about a potential move involved the Warriors teaming up with the Giants to create an arena in the parking lot behind AT&T Park. They would build a sports complex much like other cities have. They’d help revitalize the area south of McCovey Cove.

But in a surprising move over the weekend, the Warriors separated themselves from the Giants and are in the process of moving ahead with another location in San Francisco.

A source told the Chron:

“The Warriors ‘do not want the Giants to be their middleman.'”

Last week, we wrote that the Giants had unveiled their plans for the redevelopment of the Mission Bay area behind right field. Plans for a Warriors arena were ominously left out of the announcement.

I guess the writing was on the wall at that point. Today’s news just confirms it.

So what plot of land have the Warriors turned their attention to? It’s not all that far away from AT&T Park, actually.

Piers 30 and 32 along The Embarcadero are the apple of the Warriors owner’s eyes right now. You may have parked your car there. You’ve probably also noticed that it’s not exactly the most stable structure. There’s no way it can hold an arena in its current condition.

The Chronicle reports that the city of San Francisco is going to pay $8 million to stabilize the pier, but they also believe that the site needs another $50 million before it’s safe to build anything on.

The Warriors’ lease on Oracle Arena runs out in 2017, so they have time to explore every option. Despite the naysayers, an arena in San Francisco is a great move for the Warriors. An arena that is in a heavily foot-trafficked area and is easily accessible by public transit is an even better move.