by Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO–The Golden State Warriors plan to build an 18,500 seat arena in San Francisco moved one step closer to fruition when a state court of appeals upheld the city’s plan to manage increased traffic congestion and said the project would not impede access to the hospital or damage the environment.

The court recognized that some of the impacts on traffic and street intersections were “significant and unavoidable”  The court also noted that some transit funding was uncertain. The court looked at the environmental study that said the project would not interfere with access to UCSF Medical Center or the biotech companies in the area and would not change the character of the neighborhood.

The opponents of the project led by the Mission Bay Alliance plan to appeal the case to the California Supreme Court. The Warriors plan to open the new arena in 2019, but they have not set a date to start construction at this time.