Warriors, San Francisco Offer Free Muni Rides To Chase Center Events
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A new "bundling" deal between the Golden State Warriors and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will allow Chase Center ticket-holders to ride Muni free of additional charges on event days, Mayor London Breed announced Wednesday.
The Warriors have agreed to pay for the program, which covers all events at Chase Center, the new home of the Warriors that is set to open this September in the city's Mission Bay neighborhood.
Any Chase Center patron will be able to board the Muni throughout the day of the event by showing their electronic or physical event ticket as proof of payment.
"This breakthrough agreement demonstrates the commitment by both the city and the Warriors to get people out of their cars so everyone can easily get to games and concerts," Breed said in a news release.
The partnership also supports the city's goals of reducing congestion in the Mission Bay neighborhood.
"The Warriors are going to be paying for it and it's going to be based on attendance numbers to Chase Center. They'll do survey counts every year and they'll do estimated counts, quarterly," said SFMTA deputy spokesperson Erica Kato.
Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts said the team is investing millions of dollars in transportation infrastructure to make it as simple as possible to take buses or trains to events, and said that is a reflection of the team's commitment to being a good neighbor.
San Francisco will be the second National Basketball Association city after Phoenix to offer free public transit to NBA fans and concertgoers with an event ticket.
With the Mission Bay neighborhood rapidly filling with new hospitals and biotech firms, people who park in the area regularly were understandably skeptical about the free ride on Muni relieving traffic and parking problems in the area.
"It's bad enough! You can't even find a parking spot here in the family section. So add all this to that, it's gonna be never ending traffic," said UCSF patient parent Paul Barrera of Turlock.
Muni officials acknowledged the challenges public transit to and from the area faces.
"We understand everyone's concerns, especially residents and merchants in the area, about the extra congestion heading to the Mission Bay Area," said SFMTA deputy spokesperson Erica Kato.
Chase Center has additional public transit connections, including easy access to BART, Caltrain and the ferry, which will serve a temporary terminal at Pier 48 on event days.
Andria Borba contributed to this story.
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