Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement regarding Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signing Assembly Bill 1273 sponsored by San Francisco Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting that supports construction of a multi-purpose venue for the Golden State Warriors on Piers 30-32 along the City’s waterfront:

“Investing in our world class waterfront is among my highest priorities and the action taken today by the Governor signals a significant step forward in our City’s vision of a waterfront project that will create jobs, bring people to our waterfront and bring the Warriors home to San Francisco.

By signing AB 1273 today, Governor Brown sent a strong signal that the multi-purpose venue at Piers 30-32 will provide tremendous public benefits for residents and visitors alike. Thank you to Governor Brown and Assemblymember Ting for your support of this important waterfront project for our City. I want to signal my deep appreciation to the Governor and the leadership of the Legislature, including Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Pérez, for making these findings of trust consistency, which is an important step forward for the project.

The Golden State Warriors Arena at Piers 30-32 will transform a parking lot on a crumbling pier into an exceptional venue for basketball, concerts and entertainment. Our plan is much more than a state-of-the-art arena. We will transform more than half the pier into open public space and parks to ensure all visitors can access and enjoy San Francisco Bay. We are also preserving the maritime history of the site by providing a new home for the San Francisco fire boats and creating new infrastructure for water taxis, ferries and cruise-ships. We would all rather see this new transformative project than the vast, crumbling parking lot that sits there now, keeping the Bay walled off from the public behind a fence.

We know we have a long road ahead, including community outreach, environmental clearance and permitting. We will continue to work with the Port of San Francisco and our partners to make sure we build a project that is best for our City, and I can’t wait to welcome the Warriors back home to San Francisco.”