California governor Gavin Newsom took a shot at the New York Knicks on Tuesday during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Golden State Warriors new arena the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Gov. Newsom, the 40th governor elected last year and entering office January of this year, told assembled fans and media at the ceremony in northern California, “Eat your heart out, Madison Square Garden!”
“Eat your heart out Madison Square Garden.”@GavinNewsom is a big fan of @ChaseCenter 👏 pic.twitter.com/fBV0Epk6Lk
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) September 3, 2019
The opening of the Chase Center brought controversy in Warriors land, however, due to Golden State's move from Oakland to the wealthier Californian city across the bay. The first Warriors team was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before moving to San Francisco starting in the 1962-63 NBA season. The Warriors played increasingly more home games in Oakland, though, officially changed their name to “Golden State” in order to accommodate the populous state, and moved to the Oracle Arena in the early 1970's.
The Warriors' departure from Oakland follows their immense international success—with team owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber taking the lovable losers to five consecutive NBA Finals appearances from 2015-9, including three championships. With the advent and proximity of Silicon Valley and its disposable income, the Warriors' reunion in San Francisco proper has followed a trend to conceivably follow the money and cater a fanbase with money as opposed to the devoted as less wealthy fans who supported the team through hardships in the 2000's.
Gov. Newsom's dig at “The World's Most Famous Arena,” the Garden's well-known nickname, is presumably a swipe for the newly established Chase Center to take off and feature well-attended games by two-time league MVP Stephen Curry and the Warriors.