Warriors Pride Sweeps Across Oakland — and MTC

June 20, 2015 Update: The Warriors celebration in Oakland helped to drive BART ridership to its second highest level ever. According to BART's preliminary figures, 551,479 riders used BART on Friday, June 19, 2015, just 16,589 riders short of the top spot, which still belongs to the 2012 San Francisco Giants World Series victory parade with 568,068 riders. The previous number two spot was the 2010 Giants World Series celebration parade, with 522,198 riders.

June 19, 2015

MTC got swept up into the excitement over the Warriors' championship parade and rally in Oakland today in more ways than one. For starters, our offices at the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter are situated at the Lake Merritt BART station, which was a key gateway for the hordes of “Dub Nation” fans heading for the rally at the Kaiser Convention Center at the western edge of Lake Merritt. And three of our commissioners participated in the celebration — Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who represents the city of Oakland on MTC; San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who represents his city on the Commission; and Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Scott Haggerty, who also sits on MTC.

The streets around the MetroCenter were a sea of blue and yellow as fans streamed by wearing T-shirts in the team's colors and emblazoned with their favorite players’ numbers — with MVP Steph Curry’s 30 seeming to dominate. Everywhere you looked was the distinctive Warriors logo, with the new Bay Bridge East Span as its centerpiece.

MTC’s third floor windows overlooking the corner of 8th and Oak streets turned out to be a prime viewing spot for watching the heavy action at the BART station. Warrior fans poured out of the station from early in the morning. Then as noon approached, they started to swarm the station on their way back home, forming a long line several people thick that extended down the block and snaked into the adjacent plaza. According to BART Spokeswoman Alicia Trost, as of 2 p.m., some 315,000 riders had entered the BART system today. That compares to a typical entry count of 420,000 for an entire day. With an A’s game and fireworks at the Oakland Coliseum scheduled for tonight, and the Centennial Celebration of San Francisco City Hall also taking place this evening, the numbers likely will propel the day into at least the top five all-time highest ridership days for BART, according to Trost.

— Brenda Kahn