Dear Warriors Fans:
I want to personally welcome you to the ultimate entertainment experience, the New Arena at the City of Oakland and County of Alameda Coliseum Complex. Whether it is your first year or sixth decade following the Warriors, we are committed to making each game and event a spectacular day or evening of entertainment at our New Arena. There are only two things that are not brand new; the roof and the "jewel box" exterior wall.
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| Image by Cory Suppes of Ballparks.com |
Our New Arena will provide you with a sports theatre that has the best sight-lines in the National Basketball Association. This New Arena is destined to set the standard for excellence that other arenas will emulate. The New Arena is designed explicitly for basketball; not a hockey-designed building like the vast majority of new arenas.
Fan comfort will increase dramatically from the old arena. There will be two and one half times the restroom facilities. You will now have five concourses along with a wider selection of food and beverage items to provide you the very best service.
The old arena had only two concourses. We have also made this New Arena accessible and convenient to our guests with disabilities in accordance with the guidelines set by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The New Arena will also feature the best in state-of-the-art sound and video technology.
Our primary goal is to build a championship caliber team. Our new practice facility in downtown Oakland will be completed at the end of the year. Now, the Warriors will have the best practice facility in the NBA.
Join us in the ultimate arena experience, and do not miss the Warriors inaugural season in our New Arena!
Christopher Cohan
November 6, 1997 - David Steele, San Francisco Chronicle
Nearly two years after Sam Skinner's death, the Warriors yesterday officially unveiled their tribute to the longtime Bay Area journalist, naming the media lounge and workroom in the new Oracle Arena after him.
Skinner, who in the 1960s became the first black sports journalist to gain prominence in the Bay Area, died in 1996 at age 56. Skinner had run his own syndicated news service and also worked for AP, UPI, Mutual and ABC.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS LOSE BATTLE WITH SPORTS AUTHORITY
October 14, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures
A California arbitrator has ruled the Golden State Warriors must pay the Oakland-Alameda County Sports Authority $17 million from premium seating revenue and a 5%
ticket surcharge not paid for two years. The payments were withheld after the signing of a new lease in 1996 coupled with improvements in the Coliseum. The lease locked
the team into the venue for 20 years.
The amount will be reduced by $720,000 as compensation to the team for moving into the arena, according to the arbitrator's ruling.
Still to be decided is a dispute over seat licenses that were to be sold to reduce the remodeling debt. The team decided after the agreement not to sell licenses. That
issue will be heard in November.
Image by Cory Suppes of Ballparks.com
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| Oracle Arena Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 4 |
| Concessions | | 4 |
| Scoreboard | | 5 |
| Ushers | | 6 |
| Fan Support | | 5 |
| Location | | 3 |
| Banners/History | | 6.5 |
| Entertainment | | 6 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 2 |
| Total Score |  | 41.5 |
January 15, 2000 - The "new" arena here in Oakland opened in 1966, and the facility underwent a massive renovation just a few years ago to bring it to its current state. It is primarily the home of the Golden State Warriors, and history buffs can remember that the ABA Oakland Oaks won their first and only league title in this very building in its inaugural year. The arena was getting ready to host the 2000 NBA All Star game. You can find this building right next door to Network Associates Coliseum, home of the Raiders and the Athletics, and has easy access via a nearby BART rail station and sufficient parking areas.
We had just arrived earlier in the day, and were looking forward to our first event in California. Our hotel was close enough to actually see the arena in the distance, but still a drive, so we headed out to find a cool restaurant and then the game. Only problem is, there was absolutely no place we could find that looked halfway decent. We kept widening the circle, and plunged ourselves into some dreary and depressing neighborhoods that abut this sports complex. Basically, just not a great destination.
Image by Cory Suppes of Ballparks.com
The arena itself looks pretty imposing, with grand staircases which lead you to the entrance door. We assume that there are better ways to get in for the physically challenged.
The concourses are pretty ordinary, and the fan amenities available require a walk back downstairs.. for example, the team store, very large and well stocked, required a walk down off the main concourse. Club seat amenities, such as the Courtside Club, are also located on the ground level.
The Bowl
The seating bowl is octagon shaped, with an eight sided scoreboard in the center. We had seats in the second row in the upper deck, and the pitch was such that our view of the court was partially obstructed by the guy sitting in row 1. Pretty bad! The suites ring the arena above the 100 level. Another interesting feature to note is that the retired numbers of the team appear as backlit panels along the sideline balconies.
Banners/Retired Numbers
Those backlit panels include Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Nate Thurmond and Al Attles. Their one world championship was in 1975.
Summary
They gutted this building and rebuilt it from top to bottom, but the result is still a very plain arena with nothing outstanding to remember it by. The team is mired in the dumps, and the night we were here there was a huge contingent of Sacramento fans who made the 80 mile trek to cheer for their team. Otherwise, just a bland and ordinary experience... hopefully things get better as this road trip progresses.
