Why Warriors leaving Oracle Arena means so much to team worker Eric Housen

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For Eric Housen, the Warriors' director of team operations, leaving Oracle Arena will feel like moving out of a childhood home. He grew up here in this sporting epicenter of Oakland. 

“The ballpark is connected, and I was a bat boy (for the Athletics)," Housen said. "There’s so much ... I’ve slept in every corner of this building. Every single room, from the coach’s office where I used to have a couch, to the locker room training tables, the clubhouse, the visiting clubhouse, the umpires’ room. That’s what I did growing up.”

Housen has worked with the Warriors since 1985. He became a full-time staff member in 1999. 

Ask him about his favorite memories of Oracle, and the man called “E” drifts off into deep territory, like he’s starting a movie reel behind his eyes. The images flicker, blending clips of happiness and long hours. 

“Some I can’t talk about,” he said, letting the smallest smile creep on to his serious face. 

“I remember Sleepy Floyd. That quarter where he had 29 against the Lakers and we were such underdogs …”

“I remember the We Believe team was amazing …” 

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“I remember the people who would turn the music on when Mully and I would come in here at midnight, 1 o’clock in the morning.” 

Housen remembers Warriors legend Chris Mullen liked to shoot late into the night, after his kids went to bed. He liked to get shots up with Bruce Springsteen albums playing over the sound system. 

Housen said his favorite memories have people at the center.

“All the hours, all the time ... the people behind the scenes that you have relationships with," he said. "The people who stand behind their team and want the team do be so successful. They’d do anything for them.”

Housen continued: “Whether we were 17 wins one year (2000-01), the fans have always been amazing, always been supportive. There was no building like it in the league. I don’t know if visiting teams or referees would admit that, but it was just known. You couldn’t go through a day here at Oracle and not have someone on the visiting team recognize what the atmosphere was like and how much passion the fans had.” 

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A bittersweet feeling rose in Housen’s voice as he revealed what he’s overheard in his decades on the job. 

“This is a crazy place to play. This is a hard place to play," he said. "I could always hear those conversations because I was always in the locker room. Someone would say, every day, every where, this place was off the charts. As we got better, it was just pandemonium.”

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