Basketball · National Basketball Association
Golden State Warriors Travel Guide
The Warriors were founded in Philadelphia in 1946, moved to the Bay Area in 1962, and spent decades at Oracle Arena in Oakland before opening Chase Center in San Francisco’s Mission Bay in 2019. The move across the bay was contentious with the Oakland support but produced one of the best-sited arenas in American sport, a short walk from the waterfront and from the city’s baseball park.
What a trip around Golden State Warriors looks like
Fan travel angle
Mission Bay is the reason to plan a Bay Area sports trip around this arena rather than around the football stadium forty miles south. Chase Center and the ballpark are within walking distance of each other and of a growing cluster of restaurants, and Muni Metro links both to downtown. It is the rare American arena where the surrounding blocks are worth arriving early for.
Getting to Chase Center
The transit picture on a matchday, and what changes after full time.
The Muni T Third Street light rail line stops at UCSF and Chase Center directly outside the arena and connects north into the city centre. Caltrain at Fourth and King is about a fifteen minute walk and serves the peninsula south toward San Jose. BART does not reach the arena directly, so the usual route from the East Bay or the airport is BART to Embarcadero or Montgomery, then Muni.
Full Chase Center venue guideOn a matchday
Where fans go before and after
- Thrive City plaza at the arena itself, with bars and food open before tip-off
- Mission Bay and Third Street, walkable and full of newer restaurants
- SoMa around Second and King, the traditional sports bar cluster
- Hayes Valley for a proper meal before taking Muni across
Plan around this
- Muni Metro serves the arena directly and is the sensible route. Parking in Mission Bay is limited and expensive.
- The waterfront gets cold and windy after dark even in summer. Bring a layer regardless of the season.
- Do not leave anything visible in a parked car anywhere in the city. Break-ins are common and rental cars are targeted.
- Check whether the baseball park next door has a home game the same evening. Two events in Mission Bay changes transit and restaurant waits considerably.
Stadium tours
Chase Center runs arena tours on selected non-event days covering the bowl, the premium levels and the plaza. The building also has a public plaza and shops open outside event hours, which is unusual for an American arena.
Where to stay in San Francisco
Areas that work for this trip, from the San Francisco city guide.
Best areas to base yourself
- SoMa and Mission Bay (best base, walkable to both city venues)
- Union Square (most hotel stock, central, on every transit line)
- Fisherman’s Wharf and North Beach (tourist core, good for a first visit, longer to the venues)
- Mission District (best food and bars, on BART, 15 minutes from downtown)
- Santa Clara or San Jose (only sensible base for a football weekend at Levi’s Stadium)
Not travelling this time
Find somewhere showing the match
Bars and venues listed city by city, reviewed before publishing.
Related destinations
Everything else worth doing in the city
Related events
Major events this club or city connects to
Related competitions
How the leagues and championships behind this actually work
NBA guide
Basketball · League
Thirty teams play 82 regular-season games from October into April, split between two conferences. A play-in tournament decides the final playoff places in each conference, then four rounds of best-of-seven series lead to the Finals. An in-season tournament runs alongside the regular season in the autumn, with its games counting toward the regular-season record except for the final.
Open guideNBA Finals guide
Basketball · Series
A best-of-seven series between the conference champions. The team with the better regular-season record holds home-court advantage and hosts games one, two, five and seven, with the other team hosting three, four and six. Games five, six and seven are played only if the series needs them, which is the single biggest complication for anyone booking travel.
Open guideWhere to go next
Frequently asked questions
Where do the Warriors play now?+
At Chase Center in the Mission Bay district of San Francisco, opened in 2019. They previously played at Oracle Arena in Oakland across the bay.
How do I get to Chase Center?+
Muni Metro runs to the arena and is the best option. It is also walkable from SoMa and from the baseball park. Driving into Mission Bay on an event night is a poor idea.
Can I combine a Warriors game with a baseball game?+
Yes, when the calendars overlap in April and May. The two venues are a fifteen minute walk apart, which is unusual in American sport.
Last updated August 19, 2026
Sources and verification
Fixture dates move for broadcast, ticket availability is often gated by membership, and tour access changes around fixtures. Confirm all three with the club before booking travel.
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