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California court rules in favor of Warriors' move to San Francisco

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors continue to clear legal hurdles in their journey across the I-80 from Oakland to San Francisco.

The California Appeals Court upheld a previous ruling that the Environmental Impact Report for the Warriors' proposed arena in downtown San Francisco met all required standards, according to Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area.

Golden State was facing a lawsuit from the Mission Bay Alliance (a coalition of UC San Francisco stakeholders, donors, faculty, and physicians), which has steadfastly opposed plans to break ground at the proposed Chase Center.

The MBA's primary concern is Chase Center restricting access to the UCSF Medical Center.

"Our legal team is reviewing the ruling and considering options," the MBA said in a statement Tuesday. "We believe that the proposed Warriors' arena is incompatible with the Mission Bay South neighborhood and would result in blocked access to UCSF hospitals, dangerous air pollution, and traffic gridlock throughout the community."

The Warriors, meanwhile, were thrilled with the ruling.

"We're very pleased by the Appellate Court's ruling. We engaged in an extensive public planning process and we were approved by every board, agency, and regulatory body we went before," Warriors president and COO Rick Welts said in a statement.

"Now our project has been upheld by the trial court, and the court of appeals. This decision clears the path for us to build a new state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue and bring the Warriors back home to San Francisco. We look forward to breaking ground soon."

The Warriors plan to ditch Oakland and open the Chase Center in 2019.

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