Tonight at 7:00 pm, our Golden State Warriors will host the Denver Nuggets for their 2025 home opener (we beat the Lakers on the road on Tuesday for the season opener!)

The Warriors have played a transformative role in my life and career. And today I’m reflecting on the work we did to get them here in the first place. I previously served as the organization’s first-ever Director of Public Affairs. 

As the team’s leader on government relations and community engagement, I worked hard to build a coalition of more than 30,000 residents, neighborhood groups, unions, and businesses, and secured approvals from 14 public agencies to bring the $1.2 billion, world-class Chase Center to San Francisco.

But we brought more than that to the city: We secured 3,000 good-paying construction and permanent good-paying jobs for San Franciscans. We delivered transformative community investment–millions in workforce development, small business investment, public transit improvements, and educational programs–expanding opportunity in our Southeast neighborhoods. 

Of course we also brought a few championships to San Francisco!

I’m hopeful that tonight is the beginning of another championship season for our team and another historic ride for our great city.

Go Warriors!

Theo Ellington