City officials make preps to keep possible Warriors celebrations under control

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) – Although the Golden State Warriors are playing Game 6 on the road, Oracle Arena will come alive when a sold-out crowd arrives for a watch party Tuesday.

A banner proclaims loudly ‘This is Warriors Ground' at Oakland City Hall.

But inside, city leaders are largely silent about plans for a possible victory celebration. They say they don't want to jinx the outcome.

"We will be prepared to celebrate... to celebrate with Golden State... a stellar year. But that's all I can say about that," said Lynette Gibson McElhaney, president of Oakland City Council.

City leaders did tell KTVU if there is a Warriors win Tuesday, then the parade will take place Friday.

If the finals go to game 7 on Friday and the Warriors win, then the parade will be on Monday.

"Yeah, usually with celebrations, you would get a celebratory parade within days of a victory. The Warriors organization is prepared for that," said McElhaney.

At Overland Bar and Grill at Jack London Square, owner Paul Hayward says he's ordered four times the normal amount of food and beverages. "Tomorrow, we're going to have about 1,000 buns come in for the pulled pork sandwich and burgers. We also have 15 kegs coming in," said Hayward, who just held a grand opening for his business last Friday.

He says because of the Warriors being in the playoffs and then Finals, he opened his establishment to sports fans two weeks before the grand opening.

Hayward is looking forward to increased business but is prepared for the possibility of celebrations getting out of control.

"What we're doing in lieu of boarding up the windows and doing things that are drastic, what we've decided is just add extra security." said Hayward.

Oakland has a history with sports fans taking things too far. In 2003, fans angry over the Raider's loss in Super Bowl 37 overturned cars and took to the streets.

"We understand that a lot of our commercial establishments will be hosting events and parties and we want to make it safe for everyone," said Officer Johnna Watson with Oakland Police.

Oakland Police won't go into detail but say they've been working on a plan for weeks.

They are calling on fellow law enforcement to be on standby, and every available Oakland officer will be on duty.

"We're certainly going to be out. We're certainly going to create a safe environment and we have had multiple planning sessions," said Watson.

Tickets for the watch party at Oracle Arena Tuesday sold out with 17,000 tickets at $15 each.

But on the secondary market, they are going for a lot more.

For the fans going to Oracle Arena Tuesday, the parking gates open at 4 p.m. while the arena itself opens at 4:30 p.m.