Warriors vs. Lakers: Opening up Chase Center!

After an offseason full of their changes, one of their biggest will be on display tonight in the Warriors’ first preseason game: the first NBA game to be played at Chase Center.

The Golden State Warriors will face the L.A. Lakers in their first of four preseason games between the two teams tonight at 5 p.m. PST on TNT.

Most importantly, it will be the Warriors’ debut at the brand new Chase Center in San Francisco. So with the Lakers in town at a brand new building, you would probably expect that tickets to tonight’s game won’t be cheap. As reported by Anthony Slater of The Athletic, you’d have to pay over $100 just to get in the door for this evening’s game.

Of course, this is all by design: this is a business and the whole reason the Warriors brought the Lakers to their brand new building is to run up the check.

It’s the Lakers agreeing, but only if Steph Curry and the Warriors come down to Los Angeles later in October for a Monday night (Oct. 14) and Wednesday night (Oct. 16) preseason game. It’s the Warriors countering with a fourth game, this one back at Chase Center on that Friday (Oct 18).

“I imagine we each sell well in the other team’s building,” Kerr said.

The cheapest ticket on the secondary market for Saturday’s debut game in Chase Center is currently $131. To get in the lower bowl, you’d have to shell out $300-plus.

That aside, this preseason is probably one of the more intriguing in recent memory simply because there’s so much uncertainty around the team this season. It’s not uncommon to encounter fans who don’t think the Warriors will even make the playoffs. Numerous people have their doubts about how much East Coast All-Star D’Angelo Russell can help in the absence of Klay Thompson. It will undoubtedly be sad watching this team play without Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.

But on the bright side, we will get to see the team’s established stars — Stephen Curry and Draymond Green — shine this year. And I cannot wait for that. Tonight’s game will just be a small taste of that.