The arena's final price tag was around $1.6B, up from the $800M budgeted by the team seven years agoCHASE CENTER
The Warriors' Chase Center opened earlier this month, marking the "latest triumph" in the career of team President & COO Rick Welts, who discussed his "personal journey on the project, from dream to eye-popping reality," according to Scott Ostler of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Welts said, "I had no idea if I could handle it, but I knew that I wanted to try. ... It was a once-in-a-career type opportunity to head up something like this, and you know why it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Because no one would be crazy enough to do it twice." The arena's final price tag was around $1.6B, up from the $800M budgeted by the team seven years ago, and Welts "made it clear" that the "budget-busting wasn't his fault." He said "small things" led to the rise in price. Along with several construction tweaks, Welts said the lighting was "literally double the original estimate, we're talking $300 million more." Welts added Warriors co-Owner Joe Lacob "might blame the architects or the staff," but "I blame him for the cost overruns." Lacob in an email said, "Rick took the lead with politicians and neighbors and the city types. He is great at this, as he is fair and even-keeled and likable. Perhaps I am not as likable." Warriors VP/Communications Raymond Ridder said, "This arena does not get built without Rick."
SITE FOR SORE EYES: The Warriors initially were "looking at years of battles and litigation" related to their first choice of site. But Welts said there was "divine intervention" when Salesforce Chair & co-CEO Marc Benioff contacted Lacob about selling him a Mission Bay parcel. Welts: "We paid a significant nine-figure price to acquire just the dirt. But ultimately that was a game-changer. It got us off public property onto private property." He added since the site is "more than 200 feet away" from S.F. Bay, "all those other regulatory things that come with developing on the waterfront no longer applied." Welts also said, "It's not a win until the players love it. The most important thing is how it feels when we're playing a game" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/21).
