by Ken Gimblin

SAN FRANCISCO–Warriors spokesman Nathan Ballard said it best this whole new arena idea about building on a few deteriorating pylons at Pier 30-32 wasn’t going to be the slam dunk as the NBA basketball team thought it would be. The drawing of what the UFO looking saucer arena would be with a bay window that would put any see through glass around here to shame overlooking the bay, Bay Bridge, and what would be the Warriors former home the East Bay was rejected for it’s size by registered voters in San Francisco in the size of 20,000 ballots whom have spoken loudly asking for a measure that asks voters to control the height of a new Warriors arena.

The main protest is that San Francisco residents do not want any of the proposed projects by the Warriors to block or be over sized in blocking the waterfront bayviews, “it’s difficult to build an arena over the water when we’re replacing two crumbling piers that are dilapidated and falling into the bay, we never said this was going to be easy” said Ballard. A San Francisco ballot measure that asks city voters should there be height control to not only the Warriors proposed 12 story new arena but also the planning of a 17 story luxury condo and ten story hotel to be built across the street from Piers 30-32 at the Embarcadero.

Jim Stearns spokesman for the height control ballots says any confusion over this issue between voters and City Hall should be cleared up after more than 20,000 ballots were double the minimum of 10,000 to qualify to get the measure on the ballot, “there’s been a disconnect between City Hall and the voters about waterfront height limits. We’re confident the voters want to have a say in what is developed there” said Steans.

Some of the voters or city residents do not want a Warriors arena at the piers at all but at the very least they want an arena with limitations to what was proposed in the original Warriors blueprints. The drawing of the structure left very little doubt that the hotel, condo or the arena should have height limitations according to those who signed the ballots. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee who called the new arena “a legacy” to his administration has backed off that stance and has recently said that it is up to the voters of San Francisco what the future of the waterfront should look like.

After the realizing the city voters are ready to squash any over sized building at the piers the Warriors go back to the architect and will redesign a new arena that will hopefully satisfy the residents height issues. The Warriors were hoping to have the arena done by 2017 but now have set their completion date at 2018 by that time it is expected that the Warriors will have both sides of the argument on board fully.

The Warriors have met with community leaders for and against the project on Tuesday at Pier 1 showing the Warriors schedule and the steps to be taken over the course of the months between now and 2018 on the development of the arena, condos, and hotel. There is little doubt after the Warriors backtracked on a new completion date that they will also introduce new height sizes for the three buildings.

The Warriors are concerned that the size reduction might cut into their business profits as the hotel and condo were designated to off set the new arena costs. While Ballard said piers 30-32 were dilapidating the Pier 1 meeting no doubt will aim to settle the arena being built at piers 30-32 regardless of the piers condition.

Meanwhile the ballot measure that will ask voters if there should be a height limitation on any new buildings at the pier 30-32 site will be on the June 2014 election ballot. It might be all for not as the Warriors sound like their prepared to adjust the size to satisfy the voters and waterfront residents so they can get the downsized project off the ground at a shorter version. The Warriors want to get an idea of when groundbreaking day is going to be they might have to go to the voter to find that out.

Ken Gimblin is covering the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings arena developments for Sportstalk radio