Warriors ordered to pay $40M for renovations to Oracle Arena

The Golden State Warriors are being forced to pay up.

Even though the franchise will be playing home games in San Francisco next season, arbitrator Rebecca Westerfield has ruled that the Warriors must pay $40 million for renovations at Oakland's Oracle Arena.

A 30-year renovation bond worth $150 million was taken out by the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority in 1996, which is when the Warriors signed their 20-year lease and then agreed to help finance. That lease was then extended in 2016, but the team argues that they shouldn't have to continue making annual payments of $7.5 million once it's terminated in 2019-20.

Westerfield said the Warriors agreed to pay for the renovation and will have to continue doing so until it's paid off in full in 2027.

"Of course we are reviewing our options at this time, but as we’ve always said, we will fulfill any debt obligations that we owe," Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder said, according to the Associated Press.