It’s been two years since the Warriors had the last championship parade in the Bay Area, which is a relatively long wait given the Bay’s recent run of sports success. The Dubs held their first parade in 40 years in 2015, and now, they’re set for another.
On Thursday the city of Oakland will honor Golden State with a parade through the downtown area that will proceed to Lake Merritt. It begins at 10 a.m., though fans can start lining up for the post-parade rally at Lakeshore and 12th Street at 5 a.m.
The planned parade route is shown below. It will begin on Broadway at 11th Street and end up at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center. The rally is scheduled to begin at approximately 12:15 p.m.
FYI, @warriors championship parade set for June 15 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET)
MORE: https://t.co/XQLt1svPEY #DubNation #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/nMCPjnrz2p
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) June 13, 2017
In 2015, about one million people turned out for the parade, but city officials have reportedly been expecting crowds to be much larger this time around. Some estimates have ranged between 1.5 and 2 million people that will attend the parade and rally.
Fans are encouraged to take public transit and arrive early. Speaking of which here’s some information via BART for Wednesday’s event:
Ten tips for riding BART to the victory celebration in OaklandBe patient, it’s going to get crowded; our busiest hours in 2015 were 8am-10am
* Use 19th Street Station, avoid the much smaller Lake Merritt Station
* Buy a Clipper card in advance to avoid extremely long lines at ticket machines
* Look for tables with cash only $15 Clipper card sales at 10 of our busiest stations
* Parking will be packed; think about taking the bus or walking to BART or getting dropped off
* “Permit” spaces in parking lots are for permit holders only, a citation will ruin the fun day
* When boarding trains, move to the center of the car so more can fit, remove backpacks
* Don’t jam a train door- it will take the whole train out of service and everyone will boo you
* Some trains may not stop at Lake Merritt if the Rally Zone has reached capacity or crowding
* Our service will not match the publish schedule so listen and pay attention
* Riders can park for free at the Oakland Coliseum and take BART to downtown Oakland. Park in Lots A & B – enter
through main gate off of 66th Avenue. Gates open at 8am. Cars should leave lots by 4pm.
The following stations will have Clipper cards available for sale for $15 (cash only).
4am-10am
* Fremont
* Warm Springs/South Fremont
* Dublin/Pleasanton
* El Cerrito del Norte
* Coliseum
* Bay Fair
* Millbrae
10:30am-2:30pm
* 12th Street/Oakland City Center
* 19th Street/Oakland
* Lake Merritt
Details on the day’s events can also be found at warriors.com/parade.