San Francisco officials Wednesday rejected the Golden State Warriors' plan to have fans at Chase Center for the 2020-21 season, citing public health risks.
The Warriors revealed their $30 million plan last Thursday that would have allowed for 50% capacity, or about 9,000 fans, at Chase Center amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
But even before the plan was unveiled, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and public health officials two days earlier had made the county one of the first in the Bay Area to begin tightening restrictions because of a spike in COVID-19 numbers.
A spokesman for the mayor's office released a statement late Wednesday saying the county will continue to work with the Warriors on bringing fans back to Chase Center in the future.
"We are in a difficult time right now with COVID cases surging, and our focus is on keeping the public safe and healthy so we can get through this pandemic and support our long-term economic recovery," mayor's office spokesman Jeff Cretan said in the statement.
Last week, Warriors CEO Joe Lacob told ESPN the organization was willing to spend as much as $30 million for daily PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing for every fan, team employee and player.
"I not only want to get this done and show the world how we can do it now, I'm willing to spend the money to do it," Lacob told the network. "This is a serious, serious problem. It cannot go on for multiple years … because if this were to go on for several years, the NBA is no more.
California
"You cannot sustain this league with no fans," he added.
The plan also included an advanced infiltration system, the Warriors said.
San Francisco this week reverted back to the red tier in the state's coronavirus reopening guidance, but Breed already had announced a halt on indoor dining in the city, as well as limiting capacity on indoor spaces like gyms and movie theaters.
The abbreviated 2020-21 NBA regular season is scheduled to open Dec. 22, with teams beginning preseason games the week of Dec. 11-19, according to the league.
NBC Sports Bay Area contributed to this report.
