Kerr laments Raiders move: 'Sports franchises belong to the community'
The Golden State Warriors will be moving out of Oakland in a couple years' time, but unlike the NFL's soon-to-be Las Vegas Raiders, they'll at least be remaining in the Bay Area.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who helped bring the Bay its first NBA title in 40 years in 2015, is disappointed to see the owners of another team in the region packing up and moving out in the name of profit.
"Just disappointed for the fans in the Bay Area," he told reporters Wednesday, according to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. "I think I said this when the Chargers left (San Diego), but in my opinion, sports franchises belong to the community. I know that's an incredibly naive thing to say, but I believe that. I believe sports franchises belong to the community, (and) I think the owners are sort of guardians, custodians. I think they need to do everything they can to make it work in that community.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way, so I wouldn't make a good owner, I guess. Or maybe I'd make a great owner. I don't know. To me, there should be ways to find investors who can help keep the team around, not necessarily public financing. But again, this is just probably my heart speaking. I just think it's awful when teams leave a city, leave an area and go elsewhere after so many years of history and connections to generations of fans. It's really, really sad."
The Warriors are slated to move into a new arena in San Francisco before the start of the 2019-2020 season.