[minesweeper]

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the project today, apparently the last major approval needed (now come the appeals and lawsuits):

The Golden State Warriors got a win Thursday even bigger than this week’s 50-point blowout of the Memphis Grizzlies, as the San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved the team’s proposed Mission Bay arena.

While the $1 billion, 18,000-seat arena will likely face a legal challenge from opponents the Mission Bay Alliance, the vote represented the final major approval the Warriors need as the commission approved the project’s design, environmental study and two adjacent office buildings.

The vote was the culmination of a 3 1/2-year process that started with a different — and much more controversial — plan to build an arena on Piers 30-32 just south of the Bay Bridge. When opposition to that project arose from neighborhood groups and environmentalists, the Warriors moved a mile south to a site they bought from Salesforce.com.

[...]

Warriors spokesman P.J. Johnston said the unanimous vote shows that the Mission Bay Alliance’s arguments have not gained any traction.

“They are like a Whoopie cushion that’s run out of gas,” Johnston said.