Arena · Basketball
Chase Center
Chase Center is the newest of the major American arenas and it shows in every detail, from the sightlines to the concourse width to the plaza of restaurants wrapped around the outside. It sits in Mission Bay on the San Francisco waterfront, a district that barely existed twenty years ago and was built out around the arena and the neighbouring biotech campuses. It was also privately financed, which is rare in American sport and means the building has no public subsidy attached to it.
Location
San Francisco, United StatesCapacity
18,000 approx.
Opened
2019
Home teams
Golden State Warriors
Approximate basketball configuration. Concert setups differ.
What happens here
The teams and events that put this venue on a fan travel itinerary.
Major events
- NBA regular season and playoffs
- Concerts
How it got here
The history that still shapes what you see on a visit.
The Warriors spent forty seven years at the Oakland arena across the bay, a loud and much loved building that the club outgrew commercially. Chase Center opened in September 2019 and moved the franchise into San Francisco proper for the first time since the early 1970s. The move was contentious in Oakland, which lost its last major professional team in the same period, and the two buildings remain a study in contrast between atmosphere and amenity.
Getting there
Including what changes on the way out, which is usually the harder half.
Transit summary
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.
Parking and rideshare
There is a garage under the arena and further paid parking around Mission Bay, all of it expensive and all of it slow to exit onto the limited road network in the district. Rideshare pickup zones are marked around the plaza and surge hard after events. Muni is the sensible option, and the walk from Caltrain is genuinely pleasant along the water.
Where to stay, eat and drink
Nearby hotel areas
- Mission Bay and Dogpatch (closest, modern, quiet outside event nights)
- SoMa and Yerba Buena (best base overall, walkable to downtown, wide hotel range)
- Union Square (most central, best transport links, biggest choice of stock)
- Mission District (best food and bars in the city, better value, short ride across)
- Fisherman’s Wharf and North Beach (tourist base, further out, 25 minutes on Muni)
Bars and restaurants nearby
- Thrive City, the plaza wrapped around the arena, convenient and priced accordingly
- Dogpatch along Third Street, the best neighbourhood option within walking distance
- The Mission for the best food in San Francisco, a short ride west
- SoMa and the Embarcadero for a drink before heading down on the T line
Tours and visits
The arena does not run a regular public tour programme. Access is generally limited to event ticket holders, with occasional premium access packages sold through the club.
Practical tips
Planning a visit to Chase Center
- Take Muni or Caltrain. Mission Bay has a thin road network and driving out after a sell out is slow and expensive.
- San Francisco evenings are cold and windy year round, including in summer. The waterfront location makes this more noticeable than the forecast suggests.
- The arena is cashless. Card or phone only, everywhere inside.
- Check the schedule for concerts as well as basketball. The building runs a dense calendar and hotel pricing in Mission Bay follows it.
- Eat in the Mission or Dogpatch rather than on the plaza. The difference in quality and price is substantial.
Bags, security and accessibility
A clear bag policy applies with strict size limits and no storage on site. The arena is cashless throughout. Accessible seating and assistive listening are available and should be arranged when booking.
Related teams
Clubs that play here, and others we cover in the same city
Related destinations
The wider city guide around this venue
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
How do I get to Chase Center on public transport?+
The Muni T Third Street line stops directly outside. Caltrain at Fourth and King is a fifteen minute walk. BART does not serve the arena directly, so transfer to Muni at Embarcadero or Montgomery.
Why did the Warriors leave Oakland?+
The club moved into a larger, privately financed building in San Francisco in 2019 after forty seven years at the Oakland arena. The move was commercially driven and remains a sore subject in Oakland, which lost its other major teams around the same time.
Is there parking at Chase Center?+
Yes, in a garage under the arena and around Mission Bay, but it is expensive and the district has a limited road network that clears slowly. Public transport is the better option in both directions.
Last updated August 19, 2026
Sources and verification
- SFMTA Muni network and station information
- Chase Center official venue, bag policy and access information
Capacity figures are approximate and configuration-dependent. Transit routes, bag policies, and tour access change around fixtures and construction. Verify before travel.
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FanForged has no affiliation with Chase Center, its operator, or any team or event staged there. Venue names are used descriptively and no venue marks are reproduced here.