times because in 2013 you awarded $300,000 to the bay view hill zone and park 94124 to renovate and possibly expand the playground which is in the center of the property. the plan that you see on the right happens to be the plan that you approved at that time. since then, some changes have happened. we also came back in 2017 to accept a grant award from a federal grant that was administered through the state of california for $375,000 in order to add to this plan a pathway that would allow both youth and seniors to have a loop around the park and also have some adult exercise equipment. the community had for the c.o.f. raised $30,000 for playground equipment. and then in addition at this time was able to raise an

additional $150,000 for playground equipment through the public health foundation. so as i mentioned before at capital committee, the grant award that was a federal grant was actually retained -- detained in washington awaiting some signatures for them to give us the award money. so we couldn't start the project. at the time, i started to go to all the different communities around there to let them know what we were doing with the project because some time had passed, especially since 94124 had extensive community outreach at the time and there was a lot of support for the project during that time. when i went out, the community requested to be able to have an area where they can have community events on a lawn, such as picnic tables, bouncy houses,

barbecues, things like that. because we had most of the area dedicated to the field, it was hard to have it along keith street in particular. they didn't want a park along 3rd street because there's no parking there and it's unsafe to unload in that area, which gave us time to seek out additional funding and provide the design that i'm presenting to you today. the design -- what it does here is it keeps the play structure more or less in the same vicinity, although the pathway, rather than running east to west along the north side of the playground, now it runs on the south side. the biggest change is the infield is moved to 3rd and armstrong, rather than on armstrong and on keith street. this allows and opens this green area that you see along keith street the opportunity to have informal gatherings as well as formal gatherings and larger

gatherings for the community. it allows easy access to keith street, closer to the restroom and closer to the pool if you have children of varying ages doing various activities. this is a better and larger plan of it where you can see the different amenities that there are. the playground has also been increased to include swings, which is something that the community also requested. we have the adult exercise equipment around the pathway. just recently this week i presented to one of the communities the 5800 3rd street h.o.a., and they actually have stated that they wanted to see how they can create a file loop that can go around the property as well. so that is something we're looking into, to make sure that that possibility is there. but it definitely exists because you can use the sidewalk as well as internal. everything is accessible.

a few photographs just to remind you of what the park looks like. the existing playground structure and then the pathway between the playground structure leading south to east. i meant east to west. and then from 3rd street you can see the busy 3rd street and armstrong on the right. this will be a formal entry now with the backstop that you'd be entering behind. so you'd go -- depending on who you're rooting for, you'd go to the right or the left. the bleachers are on that side. it shows the fence along armstrong street that would be replaced. just a view from where close to where the playground and the pool is back out into the field. it's very expansive. and then the two entrances on either side that will be flipped. this is a playground structure that was asked by the community and they were able to reserve a

credit with recreation. then below you can see this is actually green field. we're looking at a different type of make, but it gives an example of what the community would like to see. one in particular was very attractive to them that has the ability to be accessible for use of anybody sitting down in a wheelchair or standing up as well. that one is actually active. the other ones are passive -- static i meant. okay. this is just a quick overview. in the staff report i give a detailed description of where the funding is coming from. but what you can see here is that in 2014 the project budget was really almost $600,000. then when we were able to get the extra funding from the public health foundation and in addition the state grant, we were able to increase it to $1 million. since that delay we were able to increase it to $5.8.

>> oh, my goodness. >> listed there are all the different contributors. i should say that we will end up starting -- we hope to begin at the beginning of next year and start construction in the springtime and finish off and open the park at the beginning of the following year. and that concludes my presentation. so the staff recommends that the commission approve the conceptual design improvements to bay view park. thank you and i'm available for questions. >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: is there any public comment on this item? >> good morning, commissioners. i spoke about this at committee. i wanted to try to bring about a greater diversity of activities and use of the field. i don't think people would be playing baseball every day on

the field. so i wanted to bring other things into it, such as soccer and they have a lot of trainees and other people in the department now. can we get that kind of person, a recreational leader? because i don't know if they have funding to cover that and having a recreational leader. but i think it should have more diversity of activities, kiddie soccer, that's a big thing especially outdoors. i was looking at even the baseball field itself, if you could have inclusion of little leaguers from the neighborhood. i don't know how many want to be willie mays and those kind of people, but that is a big thing for the parents who have learned

the sport baseball. also, there could be a possibility of softball. some of those things would be based upon where the bags would be and i guess that's part of the field management. if they had that included, i would like that very much. it would then bring about a diversity of activities. thank you. >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: is there any other public comment? being none, public comment is closed. >> president buell: commissioner anderson. >> yeah, i have a couple of questions. so we're going to stay with the existing restroom; is that right? >> yes, we are staying with the existing restrooms right now. if there is an ability to seek additional funding, then we would actually update it somewhat. what we are going to do is there are some accessories that need to be made accessible to today's standards, even though it was done several years ago. so that is definitely part of

this project. >> okay. but the two-sided restroom, one for males and one for females? >> yes, there is two sides. it's entered at the sidewalk. it's right at the property line. what you do is enter through a little vestibule with a drinking fountain in the middle and go right or left. >> i'm assuming there are restroom facilities inside the pool center? >> there are. >> i see there are some concepts around trees and i would just like to -- for the designers to consider shade. i think that opportunity for shade is really important here. it's a bright, sunny place. i'm there every day. i watch the people and it can be really hot and there's a lot of exposure from 3rd street. you need to get away from 3rd

street. so i would like to see some concepts around shade. maybe it's not necessarily trees, but maybe it would be some other thing. i would just like to put it out there because i think it's necessary. that's it. >> president buell: thank you. seeing no other questions the chair would entertain a motion. >> moved. >> seconded. >> president buell: all in favour? >> aye. >> president buell: so moved. >> clerk: we are now on item 11, japantown peace plaza concept design.

>> good morning, everyone. i hope you're managing to stay cool. i'm not managing. my name is -- good morning, commissioners. my name is michael degregorio. i'm a project manager at the capital division and the item before you today is discussion and possible action to approve a conceptual design for improvements to the japantown peace plaza. approval of this proposed action by the commission is the approval action as defined by san francisco administrative code we had the opportunity to present this last week at capital committee and so i'm very excited to come back and to present to the full commission today. this is a really exciting moment for me, for the department, and also for the community.

this project references our strategic plan by inspiring public space and by inspiring play. what the process has been since about may 2018 has represented just really, really tremendous community support seen in three main community meetings with more than a hundred people at each. more than 700 responses throughout the process, both digital and intercept surveys, and dozens of more informal meetings with different community groups and members. ultimately, this led to really productive conversation and people really moving the ball forward and working towards a common goal. i do have the concept design report that i prepared and submitted, but we actually wanted to try something a little bit different for this project. so we prepared a video that

references that same concept report. so i'm going to play that, and i'll come right back after its complete.

making it less effective as a daily use public space. in june 2018, the san francisco recreation and parks department created a peace plaza vision plan with comprehensive community outreach. the project team attended dozens of community events to understand how existing plaza users currently use this space and what they would like to see in the future. in total, we spoke to hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds, received more than 700 survey responses, and held three main community meetings

that collectively informed a set of design principles and a design that is broad-based community support and is community friendly. >> one of the most important parts of this design process in this whole community input was that we had professional expertise, architects who have that sensitivity and experience working with the japanese design. so that's very important to the community, and it was a natural for those professionals to be part of the process. >> we propose five main transformations to the existing plaza. first, we make it visually open and inviting while mitigating winds while providing seating and shade. then we provide flexible, open space and seating for community events such as farmers' markets,

sumo tournaments and festivals. we propose to make peace plaza an inviting and playful space for people of all ages to discover and explore. lights in the central reflecting pool pay homage to the flame. the south entrance will welcome people into the plaza and mitigates noise levels. lastly we have observed and incorporated significant elements of the original peace plaza design into the new proposal. when seen together, the new plaza will create space for a contemplative moment, a stop for lunch for a group of friends, a place to stroll, relax, and reflect on the importance of the peace plaza to this community and to the city of san francisco. >> for myself and my generation,

it really is a great challenge, but a mission of love and experience in terms of our older generations that contributed and developed this community. their legacy is what we inherited through the second generation, through the redevelopment, and to maintain that history and culture of the third generation. if we can establish that legacy for the future generations, that peace plaza should represent that continuance of legacies. >> with that, i just wanted to close with the staff recommendation that commission approve the conceptual design to renovate japantown peace plaza and i'll be on hand if you have any questions. >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: is there any public comment on this item?

>> on this particular project there was a complication involving mitigation of wind going across and in all different directions. i tried to look at it, and i can't see too many other solutions to it. there was something i thought of, i don't know whether it would be any good or not, it has to do with the rooftop between the east building and the west building and the supportive structure on the edging of the roofing, wires across and you could try to do it through little [ indiscernible ] -- and pick up that wind problem. okay. those are some of the wind issues or put in some flags you already have around that site. i also liked the idea of the

boulders. i've sat on a big one there. it gives a good bird's-eye view of the location. it like the retaining of such boulders. another part that was interesting to me had to do with the operation costs. that place there has changed throughout the years. it used to be different nightclubs. they're gone. now they have all those small little dining places and a lot of take-out food. so when they have all that food moving all around, it's going to at one time or another end up in the plaza area. i don't know how the trash concept will be strategically located how to deal with the trash. anyway, the operational costs i believe, i'm not sure, who owns

that particular building, i thought it was a private issue. i remember the fellow used to drive a porsche. i don't know how the recreation department controls the plaza area. if there is any way to try to gain an operational cost, i think that should be something the project manager as well as the department can kind of look into that would help alleviate some of the costs, maybe get additional personnel. i'm not going to take any more time. thank you. >> president buell: thank you. >> good morning, commissioners. my name is john osaki. i'm here today as a board member of the japantown task force as well as a co-chair of the peace plaza committee. i just wanted to share with you

that i am extremely pleased to finally be with you all here this morning. i cannot tell you how much this project has been a source of frustration for our community for many, many years. it's -- what i wanted to share this morning is that this project is much more than just an open-space project for this community. it has very deep meaning into the roots of our community here in san francisco. many of you probably know san francisco was the first port of entry for japanese in this country. the very first japantown was formed in san francisco. people built a life here, despite tremendous obstacles, despite tremendous racism and hatred that culminated in the forced removal of our entire community during world war ii. but people came back.

people came back and re-established homes. they re-established businesses. they found a way to rebuild this community following the war, only to be removed a second time in the name of urban renewal. the second time that our community was removed from this area, people didn't come back, and that can never be undone. today we -- those of us who are fighting to preserve our community have to find ways to continue to draw people and bring people into our community. we have to find opportunities and ways to bring our community to gather and really honor those who came before us, who work so hard to preserve our community, and that's what this project represents to us. it represents a legacy to those who built this community and to those who continue to want to

preserve it and to maintain the vitality of japantown. and i am so grateful for the support of the rec and park department through this process. those of us in japantown, frankly, are used to be being told what to do and what we can do and where we can live. this was one of the few times i felt like the community spoke and we shared what we thought was appropriate for this community and we very much support this design concept plan and we urge you to support it. thank you. >> president buell: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. when we started this process it was morning, so i'm just going to move into good afternoon. president buell, vice president low, commissioner anderson,

bonilla, harrison, mazzola and mcdonnell. we want to talk about the remarks you saw by john osaki, the co-chair, we want to emphasize the points of inclusion. i wanted to also give you greetings from our board chair as well as our co-chair who couldn't join us today and the concept was the point of due diligence. i think the video and all of the references talks about the three community-wide meetings, the 100 members who were included in it, the dozens of other meetings we had. we talked about the redevelopment and what effect it had on japantown. it was very important we had this project. as this project was indicated, it's japantown peace plaza open

space, but for many of us it's sacred ground. this is our third japanese community in san francisco. we're only three japanese communities left in the whole united states with san diego being the other one and los angeles. so in terms of california and the united states, san francisco's japantown has the symbolism of the history. there was a lot of remarks in terms of inclusion, but never have we in all our years felt a more positive working relationship than with the department of public works, with the architects from the department of public works as well, park and recreation staff, our community advisors, r.h.a., a whole inclusion to make members of our communities believers in the process. so as we reiterated, this is probably the first time within our community history that we,

members of our community, are in control of our own destiny to place a symbolism behind the peace plaza that reflects not only japantown but also san francisco. i made a remark that how many facilities in san francisco can you call a peace plaza, symbolizing the concepts of what we really need to reinforce as a place in san francisco that honors our japanese community but also honors the principles of peace as well for all san franciscans. we ask you for your support in the full allocation of funding for this project. >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: is there any other public comment on this item? >> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm glad to be here. my name is mark izu.

i am part of the j-town task force, but i am talking to you as a musician and composer. i went to all three public meetings for the peace plaza, and my world is a qualitative world so i'm just talking to you from a qualitative standpoint. when i saw all of the designs and i looked at who they're showing this to, i realized are my grandchildren going to enjoy this? who is this for? this is for the future and buildings are of course for the next generation. i was very moved and thrilled that this is a wonderful place to be and i'll be proud for my grandchildren to come play there. so thank you. >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: is there any other public comments? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> president buell: commissioner low. >> vice president low: commissioners, this is, as you've heard, really not only a

physical project, but it's actually a spiritual project as well. it's not often j-town is completely unified on issues, but this is one project where i think the entire j-town community is unified, which really signifies the importance of this project. i just want to give recognition to sandy morry, steve, nakaj, john, just the tireless leaders that have really pushed this project forward and have been resilient in pushing it forward for over ten years. i can remember my first interview with mayor adley on being appointed to the commission and he said, "let's get peace plaza done." it's taken nine years, but it does before us. i want to recognize my colleague gloria bonilla. you have been a staunch advocate

for this for probably 20-plus years and i urge all the commissioners to approve it because it will create a happy home in commissioner gloria bonil bonilla's house as well as a happy community and city. >> president buell: thank you, commissioner. commissioner gloria bonilla. >> we had several conscience i had the unfortunate pleasure of going to various site visits to see the condition, the deteriorated, degraded condition of the peace plaza and feeling just almost heart broken about the situation. at the time that we visited -- actually, the very first visit that we were there, i was there with commissioner harrison and i think, buel, you joined us on

the second visit. but in the first visit where commissioner harrison and i went, we actually witnessed a senior citizen almost fall on her face, tripping over a tile that was broken. i was -- i thought -- i mean, i already had the sense after -- or the feeling after visiting the garage and the plaza that we had to -- i mean the department absolutely had to share in the responsibility of renovating the plaza. that was -- in my mind, there was no question. the department had partner with the community to get this work done.

i also left all the meetings that i joined in with my fellow commissioners or visits, i left with the impression that for me this project couldn't happen fast enough. i never thought i would wake up this morning and open my -- because i hate to admit that i hadn't opened my briefcase until early this morning and actually saw that this was on the agenda. so i was just so elated. i never thought -- i mean, i didn't think that this day would mark the day that we begin the journey of getting this bond

approved so that we could see this project and many other priority projects that we want to push forward with on the bond. so i just thought we're beginning the journey, but we're not there yet. we still have to pass the bond. you know that's not a fait accompli. so i know it's been a long journey for the japantown task force and the community to get to this point, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us to get the bond passed. i just want to press that upon -- not only on the community, but on our department. i want to specifically thank

john and sandy and steve for for taking on the leadership role for this project. i want to thank my fellow commissioners and the department and all the other city departments that joined in and really embraced this project whole-heartedly. i just want to conclude, i'm just so elated to see that this day has come. thank you. >> president buell: thank you, commissioner. commissioner mcdonnell. >> thank you so much. there are a few moments since my time of serving on the commission when we arrive at what for me as a native san franciscan growing up here come to these kind of seminal moments, as john so eloquently said, while the wrongs can't be undone, we certainly can make

statements going forward. in my view, this is one of those statements that says this is significant and important enough to, yes, take the time -- too long -- to finally make this kind of commitment and investment. so i too join my colleagues in commending first just the stallward leadership and steadfast leadership and tireless leadership that brought us to this moment to move this forward. certainly as was said, we're not quite at the finish line, but we're near. thank you all who got us to this point. i did have one question because i couldn't quite understand from the staff report the budget plan, either in part or around the conceptual piece of it, which is beautiful, by the way, or the larger renovation effort. there was just two lines, one says conceptual line and t.b.d. >> commissioner, i'll take that

one, the cost is 25 -- total project cost is $25 million and what you're approving today is the concept plan. we are very committed to seeing this project through to execution, but we don't know exactly the source of funds yet until we work through a process of arriving at how the 2019 clean and safe neighborhood parks bonds will be allocated. there are other potential sources of money that could contribute to this project. so it is t.b.d. >> got it. thank you. >> president buell: thank you, commissioner. commissioner anderson. >> i was really excited to see this come on the agenda too when i came here in 1988 i lived a few blocks away and i was a broke law student. that was my first public space that i ever visit. it was both beautiful and also lacking even in 1988.

so that was 31 years ago. i can't believe that much time has passed. i want to honor one of my political mentors and friends carol eto who introduced me to steve and sandy and john and i want to thank you for all your activist on this. whatever we can do, both as commissioners and private citizens, to help spur this along and find funding sources, i just want to pledge i'm very interested in helping and supporting that. i hope we can move this along as fast as possible. >> president buell: thank you, commissioner. mr. ginsburg. >> general manager ginsburg: it's all been said. let me be brief and thank the japantown task force and all those particularly focused on the peace plaza project. for your collaboration because that's why we're here at the end of the day because we rolled up our sleeves and collaborated. to that end a special shout out to michael degregorio, our

project manager, who helped lead the facilitated community design process. and also he took the initiative to debut this new way of showing a concept design through video and through interviews, which we haven't done before. it is a great way to tell the story. that's our job, to tell the story about why a project is important and what it's potential is. a big thanks to mike for being creative and innovative and entrepreneurial, but also your steadfast commitment and work on the project. >> president buell: thank you. seeing no other questions. the chair would entertain a motion. >> may i please make the motion? >> president buell: please do. moved by commissioner bonnilla. seconded. all in favour? >> aye. >> president buell: so moved. thank you very much. >> clerk: we are now on item 12, general public comment, continued from item 4 if

necessary. chapter 31. at this time members of the public who were not able to address the commission on item 4 may address the commission on items that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the recreation and park commission and that do not appear on the agenda. is there any public comment? >> hello. >> president buell: hello. >> i'm going to try to touch on the san francisco reservoir. that's something that i haven't looked at for a while. they have the money now. they have all that good fortune. they have all that money. a point i want to try to bring in has to do with the water reservoir hill is a preservation and should be treated the same way golden gate park is. so where they have water development there, they have an

external pump and the internal down the water. they're going to pump that up to where the reservoir is. it's going to have that foam stuff is [ indiscernible ] and they used gravitational drip down. what i had brought in at one of the meetings has to do with an off-site gray water approach. that was well received by one of the managerials in the planning department. i would like to again bring up the idea of having gray water from off site treatment that would be not necessarily sewer wat water, that would be where they're putting in the very powerful pump. so of the gray water approach, i still think that it should be looked at a little bit closer.

there are requirements, being it's a preservational landmark, and it should be treated equally the same way you would treat the golden gate park. the water should be gently washed and not at all harshly treated with chemicals. so with that in mind, that's about all i wanted to try to convey to you people on the commission as well as the general manager. thank you. >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: any other public comment? seeing none -- oh. come forward. >> good morning. my name is francis and i have lived across from the douglass playground for 20 years. i'm here to request that there is additional signage on that playground. there is a sign on the outside

of the gate saying dogs must be held on a leash. also next to it is a sign stating that again dogs have to be held on leash, owners have to pick up after that. there is no signs inside the park. and of course i have been there and i have of course seen people off leash with their dogs. so i'm just requesting that there's a little bit more signage inside the park, maybe on the clubhouse next to the picnic area. that park is so popular. there is jumpy houses. according to parks and rec they have to have at least six months to reserve. every weekend there is a jumpy house or birthday party. douglass playground also has an off leash -- sorry, i'm not remembering my facts here as well as i would like to. an alvarado, there is a rec and park program at the park where a lot of kids are there.

i'm just requesting there is more signage so it's safer. there is a sign outside the sandy area saying no dogs should be in that sandy area. there is no fence around that sandy area. there's not like douglass courts or walter hoss playground. there is nothing to keep the dogs out except being on leash. please put some signs up there. >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: is there any other public comment? come up on. thanks. >> hi. good morning. i have been a resident of diamond heights for the last 20 years, and i go to upper douglass dog park a lot. what i'm here about is to get a usable restroom because there is no facility right there now and there is a historical building

that if possibly we could get that renovated, if not, just something usable. because we have a high-usage dog park there and we have the clientele that young children from 5 to 92. so we have the whole spectrum and we want a usable restroom and if we could restore that building, that would be great. can i give you this? >> president buell: thank you. >> clerk: is there any other public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. we are now on item 13, closed session, to inquiry with legal counsel on existing litigation. is there any public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioners, we need a motion and a second to go into closed session. >> i move that we go into closed session. >> seconded.

>> okay, commissioners, first we will need a vote whether to report on the action taken in closed session. >> i'll move to not disclose. >> second. >> president buell: moved and seconded. all in favour? >> aye. >> president buell: so moved. >> clerk: now whether to disclose all or any of the discussions held in closed session. >> move to not disclose. >> second. >> president buell: moved and seconded. all in favour? >> aye. >> clerk: we are now on item 14, commissioners' matter. this is allowed for commissioners to raise issue. there will be no discussion of these at this time. >> president buell: seeing none. >> clerk: is there any public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. we are now on item 15, new

business agenda setting. is there any public comment on this item? seeing none, this item is closed. we are on item 16. is there any public comment on this item? seeing none, this item is closed. we are no on item 17, adjournment. >> moved. >> seconded. >> president buell: thank you to our incoming and outgoing secretaries for a very, very good job. >> good job. [♪]

♪ oh, happy day ♪ in his rejoice [singing] ♪ ♪ in his rejoice

[singing] ♪ oh, happy day ♪ oh, happy day ♪ oh, happy day ♪ oh, happy day ♪ ohhhhh ♪ oh, happy day ♪ oh, happy day ♪ oh, happy day ♪ oh, happy day ♪ oh, happy day

♪ oh, happy day ♪ oh, happy day >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage former all-pro nfl player-turned emmy award-winning broadcaster, ahmad rashad. >> wow. thank you. thank you. hey, how about another round of applause for the open interfaith gospel choir. rock out pretty nice. [applause] good morning, everyone. what an incredible day. and it is really -- i really feel honored to be able to say,

for the first time in history, welcome to chase center. cheer khaer [applause] [cheering] i'm honored to be the official host of the beautiful arena press conferences. it seemed like just yesterday we were standing on a giant pier just a couple of miles from here on a picture-perfect day announcing the warriors' return to san francisco and the intention to build a spectacular, new, 100% privately-financed sports and entertainment center here in the city by the bay. [applause] and as i sort of look at it, it's actually 2600, 23 hours and 30 minutes ago. but who's counting? [laughter] it was around that time that the leaders of an up and coming basketball team decided to chase a dream. man, they chased that dream so hard that they actually named that dream just that -- chase center.

[laughter] you can't make these things up. you can't make 'em up. it sounds like something straight out of a peter guber hollywood movie script. how did this happen 2600 days, 23 hours and 31 minutes ago? here's my perspective on that. many decades ago, legendary ucla coach john wooden created a pyramid of success which in his mind were the steps necessary to achieve greatness and fulfillment. now based on the results, i think we'd all agree coach wooden was pretty damn successful. well, back in 2012, they decided to follow in the whims of his footsteps and created their own pyramid of success. after several long brainstorming session, here's what joe and peter came up with as a recipe, or pyramids, for success when trying to build the greatest sports and entertainment venue in the world. first off, seven straight trips

to the playoffs. >> whew! [applause] five straight appearances in the nba finals. [applause] three nba championships. [applause] [cheering] two nba most valuable player awards. [applause] and at the top of that pyramids, one incredible, astonishing, staggering, phenomenal, spectacular, remarkable, unbelievable, magnificent, outstanding, impressive, extraordinary, gorgeous, breathtaking, stimulating, world-class, beautiful fantastic masterpiece, chase center. [applause] [cheering] that simple. it's that simple. so here we are today, september 3, 2019, ready to cut the ribbon on a new arena, chase center. a 18,000-seat venue that will include more than two dozen

restaurants and retail locations. two office buildings, a 5 1/2-acre park and incredible public gathering place called thrive city. not only will it rival any destination in north america, but any arena in the entire world. this will be the new home of steph curry, draymond green, klay thompson following nick berry, nate thurman and al adels and, by the way, inducted into the basketball hall of fame friday night in springfield. [applause] so that is not it, though. of course the new home of every conceivable concert including shows that will feature metallica with the san francisco symphony, elton john, janet jackson, phil cold lynxer chance the rapper, dave matthews all in the same night. you talk about all-stars. not in the same night. not in the same night. check your local listings. but they're coming here. enough from me. now it's time to hear from the

people who are actually responsible and making it a place to become a reality. let's introduce our esteemed panel starting with warriors president and chief executive officer chief executive officer rick welsh. [applause] the 45th mayor of the city and county of san francisco, london breed -- [applause] warriors co-executive chairman and chief executive officer chief executive officer, joe bagham. warriors co-executive chairman peter guber. [applause] the 40th governor of the state of california, gavin newsome. [applause] j.p. morgan chase c.m.o. kristen limcow. now our first speaker is a man who provides incredible inspiration to anyone who

dreams and aspirations of becoming involved in professional sport. in high school and college, he sold peanuts at anaheim stadium in an effort to put his way through college. now here today and lifting the golden state warriors into one of most successful franchises in professional sport, he is opening a world-class sports and entertainment arena in the city of san francisco. ladies and gentlemen, the warriors co-executive chairman and chief executive officer chief executive officer, joe lacob. [applause] >> ahmad, thank you. you've said it all so i'm not sure we have to say much more. that was quite a talk. thank you very much. this is -- honestly the first words i can use are just wow. wow. unbelievable that we're here today. this is fantastic. i almost can't believe it's true, to be frank. oh, boy. i started out myself in a new

towned new bedford, massachusetts and the first time i saw an indoor basketball court was the boys club. and i was like 9 years old and i tell this story often because it is the first hardwood floor that i ever saw. and i feel like my entire life i've been trying to build hardwood floor basketball courts. i once started a court in our home on the peninsula. it took me six years to build it and they had to call it a barn when it was done. we're not going to call this a barn, though, right, rick? no. but little did we know that in only one more year than that, we could get this done! not so hard. well first, i'm not going to do a lot of thank yous. i do have to thank very briefly just a couple of people. first peter guber, my partner. man, did i choose right. when we hooked up a number of years ago, we didn't have any idea what it would be like to build a venue like this and

become an entertainment company and he just had the perfect experience for it. he has been invaluable. thank you, peter. former mayor of san francisco, ed lee who's not here unfortunately today and our current mayor london breed. san francisco has welcomed us. it's not been easy. [laughter] but it's been a great process and we so appreciate being here and thank you for all of your help and for ed's inspiration as well. [applause] i don't know if he is here today, but mark veniov. i have to call him out. without him, making a phone call, as has been well-chronicled to me and to us, we would not have this site. they were going to build $40 or $50 million architecting what they were going to build and decided to go to sales force tower at the last minute and we were the beneficiaries of that and we were able to go ahead and buy this land and build

this building. which is pretty amazing. thank you, mark. [applause] rick welts. i have to just say -- i'm sorry, rick, i have to do this -- we met about eight years ago. he came to my house. he'll probably tell the story because he likes telling it. meet peter and i and we had a three or four-hour conversation. i said rick, you've done this two times before so i can be hard. we'll turn around this basketball team and turn around the business of basketball here because it wasn't doing all that great. no big deal. by the way, we might try to build a new arena. that, none of us knew, would take so long or be so hard. eight years. he has done an unbelievable job. deserves so much credit. so much credit. everything you see here today. all the people that are hired, it all comes from rick. phenomenal job. i'm not sure there are many people on this plan -- plan thaet -- planet that could

have done it. and i want to thank my wife nicole. [applause] she not only had a lot to do with a lot that went on in this arena, decorating and various things, but frankly she had to listen to me complain and moan for seven years and that is not something you'd want anybody to do. so, thank you very much. [applause] bigger applause. bigger. so, what was the vision of all of this when we started? you know, we purchased the team in 2010 and it was a team that really wasn't doing very well on the basketball court and missed the playoffs in 17 of its 19 previous seasons. the business, while people think it was doing pretty well actually wasn't doing so well. a lot of, frankly, free tickets that were being given away. we had a lot of work to do. so, the vision was to turn the business of basketball around and turn the basketball part of it around. thank you to steve kerr and bob

myers and our players, particularly that we drafted and some we brought in. they did an incredible job. five finals, three championships. [applause] motor than -- more than we could have expected. [applause] we also had the oldest arena in the nba. now it was a great place to play and still is. and we loved the oracle in many ways. great sightlines. in fact, we replicated the lower bowl of the oracle to this building for the most part. but it was the oldest overall building in the league. i had one kitchen. one kitchen to serve 19596 people. not so good. not easy. very narrow concourses and all the modern amenities just, unfortunately, weren't there and we had to make that change. we set out with that vision of trying to do that. and to be equally [inaudible] doing that as we ultimately were with building the team. we loved oracle. but at the end, food matters. [laughter] food matters. and all the other stuff that goes along with