enormous. i have not seen any better fans, but to be connected -- [applause] to be connected with two passionate owners and a passionate commissioner has really been the highlight of my life. it is up to us to build a basketball team which you will be proud of, and i'm talking about us internally. it is up to them to complete this project, and i know they will. the onus is not on us as owners. the onus is on us as players and coaches and executives to build a team that is worthy of a building like this. to me, nothing less than championship caliber team is what i have always strove for in my life. i heard one great quotation in my life that i would remind you of, and i have it on my back for counter for a 30-some years. nothing happens unless first a dream.

you have to be a dreamer, and we had two owners here who are dreamers. if you do not have a vision where you want to go, these gentlemen know where they want to go, and they are putting their money behind their mouth, and to come to live in you like this -- my god. if i were a player, this would be my resting place if i were a free agent. david, we cannot talk about free agents, but, if i were a player coming to a building like this, i know i would have great interest in playing in one of the great cities of america, and useless proud to be part of this organization. i love these guys over here. i hated them when i played against them, and i will never forget the california power. thank you for having me. [applause] >> we cannot say enough about how beautiful the spot is. there is going to be a building that i will come down here and hang out. he comes from a successful gatt round in the private sector,

starting 15 small businesses and creating more than 1000 jobs and local government, having served as both mayors of the city and county of san francisco, and before that county executive. is also a die-hard warriors fan, and i'm sure you have seen him sitting courtside on many occasions. ladies and gentlemen, lt. governor gavin newsom. [applause] >> all i have to say, when i heard rick bring up reds, these guys get it. peter and joe, you have to appreciate the significance of that statement. this is the town that landmarks the doggie diner head. we take these things seriously, so i appreciate the local respect and appreciation for our icon. we all recognize the iconic nature of this setting. this natural amphitheater is second to none anywhere in the world. q would like touote other ex-

mayors, most cordless heracles, who said we do not imitate for we are the imitated of others -- i would like to quote other ex- mayors. mayor lee, you should be extraordinarily proud. to see the board of supervisors come together, it gives me great confidence that this project will come together by 2017. final point i will make its you need the state of california because you are on state property. if you are really wondering why the hell i am here is because i am on the state land commission, and you are going to need me, so i look forward to being there for you. >> he has been the president and ceo of the san francisco travel association since 2006. before that, he served as

president and ceo of the portland visitors association, oregon's largest destination marketing association. he is here to tell us what this amazing new arena will do for tourism in san francisco. >> what an incredible day for san francisco. not only is it beautiful, it is going to be even more beautiful. look around us. look around this setting. we are turning a dilapidated surface parking lot of top of the water in the bay into a state of the art of arena. it is an amazing thing. i want to congratulate city staff and the board of supervisors and peter and joe and rick and the whole team for coming together and creating something that we as san franciscans can be very proud of. i was looking at the logo of the warriors that was done a few years ago, and it seemed like a bull's-eye on this spot. it seems like somebody was thinking we have got to get this right by the bay bridge.

it is a great accomplishment, and something we can all be proud of. i want to talk briefly about the importance -- we have heard about basketball and how important and how loved the team is in the area, but the facility will bring a lot more to san francisco -- events, concerts, circuses, conventions that we simply cannot host without it. our customers have said that the most important infrastructure in the city's tourism facilities that is missing is an farina -- arena. we have no place to hold these events, whether it is beyond basketball like gymnastics finals, or the democratic convention or the n.c.a.a. finals -- things like that that san franciscans can enjoy, but bring dollars and revenue into the city in a very needed time in our economy. if you look what this complements, the new cruise ship terminal being built down the here, the very building, the exploratory and that will be opening next year, at&t park,

and now this project, a this beautifularena, state of the art, world class -- this beautiful arena. it is something our customers will be very happy about. we did a survey of our clients from a run the world, and delegates spent $3 billion in san francisco a year, which is a large amount of money. we asked what they would use the facility for. 80% said the complex would add value to san francisco as a destination. that is really significant. what this project means to us beyond basketball -- and basketball is important, and the warriors coming home is important -- are four main things -- jobs, economic and that, tax revenue for the city and county of san francisco, and entertainment for all of us. this is truly a great day for san francisco. i cannot wait until 2017 when the facility opens, and we can

really celebrate what will become one of the true icons on the waterfront in san francisco. thank you to the warriors for making this happen. [applause] them during his nba career, he played for five hall of fame coaches, and his team qualified for the playoffs 14 times. following his initial season in the nba, he was named rookie of the year. most impressively, he concluded his career ranked third on nba all-time assists with 10,334 assists. since then, he has also spent 10 years as an nba tv analyst. head coach of the golden state warriors, who is over there trying to figure out how many 57 games is, is mark jackson. [applause] >> thank you. what a beautiful day. i'm used to coming up and talking without heavy hitters

prior to be grabbing the microphone. this is awfully tough, outstanding speakers thus far. maybe you want to play dr. king's speech before david and i get up. [laughter] i will say this because ultimately, i have got to with knowledge two incredible basketball players and more importantly, two incredible human beings. thank you for the history. i came in as the head coach of this basketball team. the one thing we talked about was we were going to be a no excuse basketball team. being honest with you because we are family here, we had excuses. we just did not decide to air them out. but to the credit of this incredible ownership group led by joe and peter, they continue to knock off the check list of excuses that we had, taylor made. an incredible job of commitment, an incredible job of passion, focus, and

determination that became contagious throughout this organization. i am honored and thrilled to be the head coach of this basketball team. i look forward to what lies ahead in the future. this is a great day for bay area fans and fans of sports throughout this country. at the end of the day, we are talking about 2017, though, and i can celebrate. i can high five and look forward to it, but we have a commitment today. we have a commitment of winning today. we look forward to 2017, but we look forward to taking care of the business that is at hand close by. we are thrilled to death, but the commitment remains the same, and the no excuse mentality remains the same. at the end of the day, as i talk to my wife, she asked what i was doing in the morning, i explained to her because when you are family, you get inside information. i told her what it was all

about, and she was excited and the kids were excited, but then we thought about it. that is 2017, man. how many coaches still coach their team five years later? so i bought a permanent pen, a sharply, and i had the contract, and i'm not selfish. bob and i on the way here together, we talked to the ownership group, and we wanted to get them to sign some papers to make sure that we are part of this ribbon tie event in 2017. [applause] but it is going to be a great day. fasten your seatbelts because it is an exciting time with this group. thank you so much, and god bless you. [applause] >> i never thought about it, a coach and general manager invited to a press conference. not a good sign in the nba.

seven-year nba veteran, named a member of the eastern conference all-star team. during the recently completed season, he became the first warriors player to average at least 20 points and nine rebounds in four years since the gentleman in the front row, and eight thurman, did it in 1971 and 1972. extremely community oriented, having fat -- captured the warriors community is this award, ladies in july, power forward for the golden state warriors, david lee. [applause] >> going last -- raymond, you are in trouble for putting the last. such a great day to be a warrior today. i think i will nominate myself -- i'm going to make an announcement. i can get this whole project done in 68 months, so i will still be a warrior for sure. i'm putting myself in charge of the planning and the construction. in all seriousness, two years

ago, new ownership took over and came to speak to us in the locker room that had a couple points, wanted to tell us where we were going, where this thing was that it appeared the first thing he said was we are going to put great people around the players appear the people behind me right now, we have an unbelievable coaching staff, everything down to the medical team, the trainers, the front office, the logo. he said that we're going to put great people around the players, taking away the excuse that we do not have great people around us. the second part is we will have the best facilities of any team in the nba, and that is what we are here to celebrate today -- the beginning of that. with that comes a lot of responsibility. i told you i'm here representing the team and the players. this kind of responsibility means we are not waiting until 2017, that this building will be an iconic building, and it will be a place where fans can not only enjoy games in december and january but can expect to enjoy

games in may and june as well, the time we will be having to make our playoff run. so thank you for having me here. >> i would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for being here today. we will have a photo op, and there will be questions of to the side later. be sure to mark your calendars and beat us here in 2017. [applause]

it >> to route a career in public service that stretches three decades, ed lee has demonstrated his idealism and his pragmatism. he showed his confidence early, fresh out of law school.

he helped deal with san francisco at first organized rent strike to protect the rights of some of the city for almost a vulnerable residents peeping -- . -- most of vulnerable residents. he used his position for the last 20 years, effectively, winning unanimous support for a budget designed to close a $380 million deficit, negotiating pension reform that the voters approved last november, including such major employers as twitter. he is a strong education advocates and for programs that strengthen our communities and

our schools. to keep the partnership and the sf promise, which joins the city and university in the unified school district to deliver more graduates of our local high schools to san francisco state. ed lee's story is an all- american 1. like many of today's graduates, he is a first generation american 1. he became san francisco's first asian-american mayor in january 2011. [applause] he had been appointed at that time by the board of supervisors unanimously to serve out the remainder of mayor gavin newsome's term. ed lee exemplifies our

commitment to improving our shared society. he is our mayor, are kind of mayor, and he likes to say "i was a progressive before progressives were a political faction in town." i am proud to present to you, the honorable edwin m. lee. [applause] >> greetings. greetings to the members of the board of trustees, faculty and staff of san francisco state university, family and friends. good afternoon, class of 2012.

[cheering] i am certain the in a san francisco state of mind today. nearly 800 graduates from 109 countries, right here, at the university of our great city of san francisco. and thank you again for that very kind introduction. u.s. and a wonderful partner for our city, -- you have been a wonderful partner for our city, actively shaping our education policy for the 21st century new economy. you are a true capt. of change. week as leaders need to live by the values of social justice.

these reforms in higher education have impacted generations of students across the world. congratulations on your well- deserved retirement and a big welcome for dr. leslie wong, the incoming president, who will have to fill big shoes. i want to say to the alumnus today, as you go around the west of the world with your values reject -- around the rest of the world with your values as a graduate of this university, make sure people know san francisco is and always will be a sanctuary for the rest of the nation. [applause] and to your student commencement

speaker, if i may say -- [speaking foreign language] congratulations. he didn't know i could speak russian, did you? i hope to see you start a new tech company right here in the indonesian capital of the world, san francisco. -- in the innovation capital of the world, san francisco. [applause] i am thankful every single day for the opportunity to serve san francisco. is a privilege to wake up each morning and go to city hall and work for the people of this city to do everything i can to help you succeed in your lives. class of 2012, that is what today is about. succeeding and growing your lives, for yourselves, your

families, and as mayor, i will state selfishly, your city, were ever you go from here. i just turned 60 a few days ago, and i was thinking, maybe we did a few things in celebration. we blaze new trails for social justice and pushed the rest of america to embrace people rights for all people -- women, african-americans, asian- americans, latinos, gays, lesbians, people with disabilities. [cheering] we are a leader in protecting our environment, and we were the first city to adopt universal health care. [applause] and this university and this student body have been and

always will be the vanguard of excellence. when i was not much older than you, i came to the bay area to join others to make the world a better place. we locked arms and stood in the doorways of the international hotel to protest the wrongful eviction of elderly filipino and chinese immigrants who had no money and no place to go. we sued the san francisco fire department to give women and people of color an equal chance to be a firefighter for public safety. and we made a difference. today, i am proud that our state hired a woman to lead our fire department. i could never have imagined that in my lifetime the country would elect an african-american president, or that even the

people of san francisco would have collected an asian-american mayor. [applause] but we screwed a few things up along the way. the economy, the environment, social justice. we are still working at. now you are graduating, class of 2012. the challenges of the world are your challenges. so, you're next assignment, your homework for the rest of your life -- i can do that because i'm mayor -- is to run the ball a little further down the field and make this world a better place. i know some of your thinking "but, mayor, i have got to get a job. i have got to repay my student loans. i have to pay rent, paid for my mortgage. i have to care for my family."

yes, you do. we are letting you out on to the world stage in an economy where to many people are looking for jobs. it is survival of the fittest, like something of "hunger games." but my message to you is you're in san francisco, you are not on your own. it is more like "the avengers." no, i do not have any special superpowers. what i mean is that, while it may not always be evident, and he will have challenges as you leave this university and throughout your life, but always remember you are surrounded by a not so secret society of people who want to help you. they are people in business and government, law, the economy,

sports, health care, education and the arts, in every field who have achieved a measure of success and wisdom in there lives. the greatest gift they can ever give is to pass on a little bit of that wisdom and a little bit of what they have learned to you and help you achieve to an even greater degree. don't get me wrong. it is up to you and you alone to decide what you are going to do with this opportunity and not waste it. don't be afraid to ask for help, whether it is your boss, your family, or your mayor. don't lose yourself and your values. don't forget the world will change even amid the successes

you achieve. look to your communities and ask yourself -- "how can i give back?" because if there is one thing that i see in this economy that is emerging, all these great start-ups in technology and tech and biotech -- it is that success does not come from going it alone. success comes from collaboration, interaction, bringing diverse backgrounds and skills together for a common goal. go to these new companies. any of the incubators. due to mission the. they don't have offices. they have big open tables. they have white boards everywhere. the entire company knows the

value of collaboration. the idea that success comes from sharing ideas and goals, because that is how we get innovation. that is how you, class of 2012, can be the best. it is not just innovation, but an innovative approach to health care, curing diseases, cleaning our air and water, cheering social diseases and social justice. we are the gateway to the pacific rim, to asia, and to the west we have latin america and brazil. we are an international destination and b are known throughout the world.

-- and we are known throughout the world. you are part of a brand that represents new ideas, new frontiers. i will close with an apology. as someone you may not -- as some of you may know, the chinese zodiac has 2012 as the year of the dragon. the dragon is the only mythical animal in the chinese zodiac and the most powerful of all the rest. the year of the dragon is fittingly a time for risk- taking, bold decisions, and innovation. class of 2012, the world needs your risk-taking. seize this year of the dragon for yourselves, for your family, for the rest of your. your graduating at a time of your graduating at a time of immense opportunity and prom