Golden State Warriors Reportedly Moving to San Francisco in 2017

The Golden State Warriors are moving back to San Francisco.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the Warriors are planning to head back across the Bay by 2017 to occupy a new, state-of-the-art facility near AT&T Park:

"

Sources: Warriors have finalized plans to move to San Francisco. Announcement could come as early as Tues. Pier 31/32 arena w/ private $$$.

— Fast Break (@GSWFastBreak) May 20, 2012"

A formal announcement is expected to come on Tuesday.

The Warriors currently play in Oracle Arena in Oakland, the oldest arena in the NBA. Their new home, at Piers 30 and 32 in San Francisco, would be privately funded and suited to host events other than just basketball.

The news hardly comes as a surprise to Warriors fans. Owners Peter Guber and Joe Lacob have long had designs on moving the franchise back to San Francisco. Per the San Francisco Chronicle, the Warriors met with mayor Ed Lee and San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer back in December to discuss the feasibility of constructing the Bay-front arena on which to move forward once they've maneuvered through the red tape.

Parking, however, remains of some concern, with only 1,000 spaces included in the proposal.

This will be far from the first relocation for the franchise. The Warriors first moved from Philadelphia to California in 1962, spending nine years in San Francisco before hopping east to Oakland and becoming the Golden State Warriors in 1971.

The Warriors have been up and down as a franchise since. Golden State reached the playoffs five times in six seasons upon their Oakland arrival, including a run to the club's second NBA title in 1975. That run was followed by nine campaigns without postseason play, followed by a string of five playoff appearances in eight seasons during the late '80s and early '90s.

Golden State's most recent run of futility has seen the franchise qualify for the playoffs just once in the last 18 tries, when the "We Believe" Warriors upended the top-seed Dallas Mavericks in 2007. 

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