San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed, in partnership with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), today celebrated the opening of the new University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)/Chase Center Muni Platform in Mission Bay. Assemblymember David Chiu, Golden State Warriors President Rick Welts, and UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood joined Mayor Breed at the platform ribbon cutting.

In anticipation of the new Warriors’ Chase Center and the growth in jobs, housing, healthcare and retail in the neighborhood, the SFMTA constructed a new center platform along 3rd Street between South St., now named Warriors Way, and 16th Street. This new, larger platform will service both inbound and outbound trains and will greatly expand transit capacity in preparation for large crowds.

“This new platform will make it easier for people get to and from the Chase Center, UCSF and other businesses in Mission Bay without having to rely on cars,” said Mayor Breed. “By encouraging people to take public transportation, we can reduce congestion on our streets, make our city more environmentally-friendly, and get people where they need to go safely and efficiently.”

The larger size of the new and improved platform will accommodate 700 patrons at a time and will enable four, two-car trains to load simultaneously during events. When needed, the platform will allow trains to depart inbound from both sides of the platform to connect customers quickly to BART, Caltrain, and eventually the Central Subway.

“This new platform will help fans get to the game quickly and efficiently while benefiting the surrounding neighborhood,” said Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco). “Kudos to Mayor Breed, SFMTA, the Warriors, UCSF, and many others for making this transit-first project a reality.”

With recent growth in Mission Bay, public transportation options in the area have become a growing concern for the community. Once the Chase Center opens in September, the best way for patrons to get to a concert or event will be to take transit and avoid traffic and the cost of parking. The SFMTA is working in partnership with the Golden State Warriors to ensure that Chase Center patrons can get to and from events with minimal impact on residents, merchants and employers in Mission Bay and the surrounding neighborhoods.

“UCSF’s number one priority is to preserve access to our Medical Center at Mission Bay,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood. “We support all efforts to make it easier for people to get out of their cars to help ensure that everyone coming to Mission Bay to work and study, attend an Arena event, or seek medical care can arrive in a safe and timely manner.”

“This Muni platform is a critical piece of our overall transportation plan and will ensure fans and patrons have the easiest and most direct way to get to Chase Center and Thrive City,” said Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts. “We are incredibly proud of this investment and our continued commitment to being a transit-first arena. From the recently announced Muni bundling program to investing in transportation infrastructure, Chase Center and the Warriors are committed to doing what we can do to make it as simple as possible to take transit to events.”

In order to accommodate the new platform, SFMTA widened the Muni tracks and installed new overhead wires to power the trains. Additionally, they updated the utility lines and street lights, and upgraded the nearby traffic signals.

“The new UCSF/Chase Center platform will give visitors an easy, hassle-free option to get into and out of the area during events.” said Tom Maguire, Acting Director of Transportation of SFMTA. “We’re grateful to the Warriors, UCSF, and other neighbors in their support of a transit-first initiative to get people to Mission Bay as safely and sustainably as possible— especially with their event ticket being valid Muni fare.”

Last month, Mayor Breed announced a partnership between the Warriors and SFMTA to create a “Transit Bundling” program, in which all event tickets will serve as Muni tickets for event patrons. Under the deal, the Warriors have agreed to pay for the Transit Bundling program. San Francisco will be one of the first cities in the world to offer Transit Bundling to Chase Center event attendees.

For more information on transportation options to Chase Center, visit www.sfmta.com/ChaseCenter. 

###