Now that the 2019-20 NBA regular-season schedule has been released, planning can begin for what will be an intriguing year when it comes to arenas.
The NBA released its 2019-20 regular-season schedule last week. With that announcement, there is clarity regarding the exact dates that new or renovated arena will be showcased, highlighted by the Golden State Warriors’opening of San Francisco’s Chase Center.
The Warriors will play their first regular-season game at Chase Center on October 24, when they host the Los Angeles Clippers. This will mark the first NBA regular season game played in San Francisco since January 29, 1971. On that date, the Warriors hosted the Buffalo Braves at San Francisco Civic Auditorium, winning by a final of 106-100.
Construction is currently wrapping up on Chase Center, a new privately financed arena that will anchor surrounding development in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood. Prior to its first regular-season game, the Chase Center will see plenty of action, with a September 6 concert featuring Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony to serve as its first event and the Warriors will play their first exhibition game at the venue on October 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
For the NBA, the 2019-20 season will mark the fourth straight campaign in which the league sees the debut of a new arena. While Chase Center is undoubtedly the highlight of the upcoming season when it comes to arenas, there are also plenty of notable renovation projects in the works that will be put on display this fall.
Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse remains closed to accommodate the final phase of its $185 million renovation project. The arena will reopen in September, with the Cleveland Cavaliers giving prominent display to the finished product during their regular-season home opener against the Indiana Pacers on October 26. The completed renovation will include a new glass façade, an increase of the arena’s total square footage, new destination hospitality spaces, technology upgrades, and more.
Wells Fargo Center is in the midst of a major, multiyear renovation led by Comcast Spectacor, and the Philadelphia 76ers will show off the latest upgrades with their home opener against the Boston Celtics on October 23. Among the upgrades planned for the latest phase of the renovation are an overhaul to the Main Concourse level that includes new gathering spaces, 8,000 new seats in the lower bowl, an expanded Center City Club, a new Kinetic 4K center-hung scoreboard, and more.
In Washington, Capital One Arena is undergoing another round of renovations, emphasizing video technology and other improvements. The Washington Wizards will host their home opener there on October 30, with the Houston Rockets as the opponent. Several upgrades will be implemented through the latest round of renovations, with one addition in particular affecting the fan experience for basketball: The District, a new courtside patio that will be open to all VIP ticket holders.
Elsewhere, upgrades are taking place at TD Garden, where the Boston Celtics will host their home opener against Toronto on October 25. With the Toronto Raptors fresh off their first NBA title, this season will be a big one at Scotiabank Arena, where several upgrades are in the works. Some of those improvements should be on display when the Raptors host the New Orleans Pelicans on October 22, the first game of the NBA regular season.
Given the opening of Chase Center and the number of renovations set to be in place, the 2019-20 season will be a notable one for the NBA’s arena landscape. The schedule announcement brings certainty to when those projects will be showcased and builds anticipation for the action beginning this fall.
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