Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard knows the struggle that people in his hometown of Oakland are going through. The city known as “The Town” is now losing two of their professional teams due to relocation, first the Oakland Raiders, as they move out of state to Las Vegas, and then the Golden State Warriors, who will play at the Chase Center in downtown San Francisco next season.
The move for the two aforementioned will bring a boom in ticket sales for both cities, but those in the city of Oakland are unlikely to make the trip down the bridge to see their team again.
“They’re upset about it. It’s one of those things where success comes and you’re going to up and move,” Lillard told Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News. “A lot of the real Warriors fans, a lot of times they can’t go to the games. They can’t afford it. At that time, we were able to go to the games. Nowadays, a really good ticket is way more expensive to do everything. The people who are real Warriors fans aren’t able to get into the games.”
A similar story was true for the San Francisco 49ers, who moved from the longtime Candlestick Park to a newly-built Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara in hopes to maximize revenue with a state-of-the-art venue.
Article Continues BelowOwnership expected a rabid fan base to follow, even if it took a long commute, but the Niners failed to get back to their previous glory after reaching the Super Bowl in 2013, and soon were left with nothing but white collar suits as the prices had skyrocketed, ones that eventually vanished from the stands once the losing kicked in.
The Warriors are in a similar position, atop the NBA world with three championships in four years, but making the move in one of the most pivotal seasons — one that can secure a legacy.
It's unknown if the state-of-the-art Chase Center will be able to replicate the roar from Oracle Arena, the venue that hosted the Warriors as its home team and one of the oldest relics in NBA history.
Only one thing is sure — the fans who once stuck through thick and thin, the ones that cheered for Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin, Lattrell Sprewell, Jason Richardson, and even Adonal Foyle — those fans no longer will be able to cheer with that same fervor without completely emptying their pockets.