Golden State Warriors Planning Return to San Francisco for 2017 Season

In some of the least surprising news of the day, the Golden State Warriors announced at a 10 a.m. PT press conference on Tuesday their intention to return to San Francisco, according to NBA.com.

Former NBA on NBC commentator Ahmad Rashad hosted the event and was quoted by CSNBayArea.com, saying, "The most impressive arena in America would be sitting right here on this pier (in five years)."

Originally from Philadelphia, the Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1962 before ultimately leaving for Oakland in 1971.

It has been a long 41 years, but the time has finally arrived for the Warriors to head back to their original West Coast home. Owners Joe Lacob and Peter Gruber have been eying this move since purchasing the club back in 2010.

The earliest the club would be able to move is 2017, when its lease with the Oracle Arena runs out.

The Warriors plan to build an arena at Piers 30-32—a waterfront site near the Bay Bridge that is only a few blocks from the San Francisco Giants' AT&T Park as well as the downtown financial district.

Here's an idea of what it would look like, courtesy of NBA.com's Warriors page.

The move is far from complete, though, as building anything in California is never easy and there is still much to be discussed.

The Warriors are banking on their relatively impressive attendance numbers—10th in the league this year, according to ESPN—to rise when they can finally call San Francisco home again. In addition, there is a lot more sponsorship money to be found on that side of the Bay Bridge.

Lacob was quoted saying, via Marcus Thompson:

"

Joe Lacob: "This is more than just a basketball arena. This is a live entertainment arena."

— Marcus Thompson (@gswscribe) May 22, 2012"

This could be the start of a mass pro sports exodus from the city of Oakland, as both the NFL's Raiders, according to an Associated Press report via ESPN, and the MLB's Athletics, according to an AP report via the Mercury News, are looking for new facilities as well.

It remains to be seen what they will do, but the Warriors making the move is now official.