The Golden State Warriors will officially open their new arena in San Francisco Thursday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Chase Center, as it’s called, is being billed as the single-greatest arena project in basketball history.
It’s also now going to lead to record revenue for the five-time defending Western Conference champs.
According to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Golden State’s projected annual revenue for the foreseeable future in San Francisco will hit a whopping $700 million.
“Starting this inaugural Chase season, it’s estimated that the Warriors will take in about $700 million in annual revenue for the foreseeable future,” the report read. “This about $250-300 million more than the Knicks or Lakers, the next-highest NBA teams.”
That’s an insane number right there. Forbes estimated the Knicks revenue to be at $443 million back in February. As for the Lakers, the very same estimate came in at $393 million.
What’s even crazier here is that this estimate has the Warriors bringing in a higher annual revenue than every NFL team outside of the Dallas Cowboys.
Only the MLB’s New York Knicks ($712 million) have a higher source of local revenue among that league’s 30 teams.
Golden State heads into the 2019-20 season with some major question marks. Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant departed in free agency. Fellow All-Star Klay Thompson could miss the season with a torn ACL.
Despite this, the future looks bright in San Francisco. Golden State will end up targeting other stars to team up with Stephen Curry. The ownership group will continue to pay ridiculous luxury tax numbers.