This article originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on June 12, 2015.
By Lev Facher
Hundreds of rabid Warriors fans have found the perfect balance between watching their team at Oracle Arena, at a sports bar, or from the comforts of home: a movie theater in Uptown Oakland.
The fans who packed the New Parkway Theater on 24th Street are getting their money’s worth: Just $15 buys you a seat among hundreds of other yellow-clad fans and a prime viewing spot for the NBA Finals on the big screen.
Save for the scale, said Diane Tadano, a New Parkway manager, the experience isn’t all that far from what you’d get at Oracle, just four BART stops down the line. And watching in a theater has its perks.
“Food or drink are far less expensive than what you’d pay at Oracle,” Tadano said. “Plus, you get the same community vibe. You’re high-fiving strangers.”
Those celebrations were in short supply for Games 2 and 3, but they came early and often for Warriors fans during Thursday night’s Game 4, a 103-82 Warriors win that tied the series 2-2.
Tadano’s arena-atmosphere comparison was barely an exaggeration. Fans at the New Parkway were so involved in the game it was difficult to believe it was taking place across the country. They cheered the early explosiveness of Andre Iguodala, groaned at a perceived LeBron James flop and exploded with each of Golden State’s made baskets.
Austin Gates, a former Oakland resident who has moved to San Francisco, was at the New Parkway celebrating with a friend who’d recently closed the deal on a new house. He’s a Warriors season-ticket holder, but said he’d consider coming back to the New Parkway when the series pivots back to Cleveland for Game 6.
“It’s a pretty eclectic scene here,” said Gates, who enjoyed the opportunity to “yell at the TV, just like I do at home alone during games.”
The demand for seating at the watch parties has been “off the charts” throughout the Warriors’ playoff run, according to theater management.
“I think when you have a sold-out crowd, that just brings a unique tone,” Tadano said.
Recognizing that all eyes are locked on the Warriors on game nights, the theater has taken to clearing its schedule in time for tip-off, canceling movie screenings and weekly events like trivia night.
“In the beginning, rounds 1 and 2, we weren’t quite sure how significant a following they’d have,” Tadano said.
So the theater tentatively scheduled movie screenings in one theater for game nights while reserving the other for the Warriors. Once Golden State got past New Orleans in the opening round, however, it quickly became clear that the demand was there to dedicate both screens to basketball.
Romeo Dela Cruz, a resident of Hercules, was at the game with friends, and said the experience was “totally different” from watching at home.
“It’s hard to be a Warriors fan,” he said, noting the generations-wide gap between Golden State’s Finals appearances. “Forty years is a long time.”