The cost to rehabilitate the aging piers where the San Francisco Arena would perch - as much as $170 million -"is a lot higher than we originally started with," co-owner Joe Lacob said at a San Francisco Chamber of Commerce luncheon Monday.
"It's a big number," Lacob said. "But look, we're privately doing this, and we've made the decision we're going to do it. It's more expensive than we thought, but you only live once."
Getting the arena built would require approval by the Board of Supervisors, the city Port and Planning commissions, the State Lands Commission, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission.
The team is facing a shrinking and aggressive time frame to get its arena project approved and built in time for the 2017-18 NBA season, when its lease at Oracle Arena in Oakland runs out.