Attorneys for the Warriors are arguing that the team has "no obligation to pay any remaining debt" on Oracle Arena once it leaves for the new Chase Center in S.F. in '19, according to a front-page piece by David DeBolt of the EAST BAY TIMES. The arena’s operator, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority (OACCA), contends the team "must pay all the remaining debt" -- estimated to be about $40M -- regardless of where it plays. An Oct. 6 letter to the American Arbitration Association was the Warriors' "first public filing on the matter and sets the tone for what could be a prolonged legal battle." If a requested mediation "does not work, the dispute will head to a third-party arbitrator." The OACCA "could be responsible for the remaining debt when the Warriors leave." The 20-year Oracle Arena lease was signed in '96 and specified that the team "would make annual payments on the debt and be responsible for the debt if it terminated the lease." At the time, the OACCA issued $140M in bonds to "renovate the arena, work that included gutting the interior." A new two-year lease signed last year "contains the same language." Each year, the Warriors have paid $7.4M from "premium seat revenues toward the bond debt, which will leave the debt" at $40M if the team leaves Oakland in '19 and $32M should they play an additional year (EAST BAY TIMES, 10/19).
