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They say you can’t walk 10 minutes in this city without hitting a park, and the same thing is becoming true about seeing mayor Daniel Lurie.
There he was, at McLaren Park on a perfectly sunny, second-summer San Francisco day, shaking hands and posing for pictures.
Oh, and rallying with tennis legend Roger Federer. The 20-time Grand Slam champion even let the ubiquitous first-term mayor win a point.
“I don’t know if you could call it taking a point, he was kind of giving me a couple overheads,” Lurie told The Standard. “But it’s an honor to have an icon visit our great city and to bring the Laver Cup here.”
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Federer, Lurie, Golden State chief operating officer Brandon Schneider, and several tennis dignitaries welcomed the Laver Cup to San Francisco by refurbishing six public concrete tennis courts and hitting balls with kids in the local Youth Tennis Advantage program.
The Laver Cup, founded in part by Federer in 2017, pits “Team Europe” against “Team World” in a tournament that’s akin to golf’s Ryder Cup. For Lurie, it’s another data point in his city’s revitalization as he touts a commitment to sports and entertainment. For Schneider and the Golden State Group, the event is further proof that Chase Center can be a versatile (and lucrative) host.
And for Federer, it’s not only an opportunity to give back, but an excuse to stay close to the game he retired from in 2022.
“Clearly, I’m a little bit focused on my kids right now, they’re 11 and 16 already,” Federer, 44, said. “But there’s going to be a time where I enter the game even more than just the Laver Cup, let’s say. Don’t know if that’s commentary, don’t know if that’s coaching, don’t know if that’s mentoring. But the game has given me all the opportunities in life, and I’m super grateful to it.”
Some of the best tennis players in the world, including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, will compete on Steph Curry’s home floor this weekend. Former tennis stars Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi are set to coach the European and World teams, respectively. All five sessions are already sold out and thousands of fans are expected to participate in the free watch party outside the arena at Thrive City.
The Laver Cup, which started in 2017, alternates host cities every year. This is only the second time the United States has hosted the tournament with the other being Boston in 2021.
“Our city, we had a few years we were down,” Lurie said on Tuesday. “But I hope all of you from around the world get to see that we are a city on the rise. We’re investing in our sports, our arts, our culture.”
The competition is another in a jam-packed sports schedule in the Bay Area. Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara is hosting this season’s Super Bowl as well as World Cup games next summer.
Earlier this year, Chase Center hosted the 2025 NBA All-Star festivities, which generated more than $300 million in total economic impact for the city. Schneider said he hasn’t seen the revenue projections for the Laver Cup, but said it should bring in “tens of millions of dollars, for sure.”
“And that’s one of the things that was important to us when we built Chase Center: we wanted to have diverse events inside Chase Center and outside at Thrive City for everybody,” Schneider told The Standard.
“And we wanted to have events that leave a lasting impact. So, being here today watching Roger Federer play with these kids on brand new courts was important. But the economic impact for small businesses is a big deal for us, too.”
The Valkyries’ playoff game against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday night came at the expense of the Laver Cup. Because of the lengthy setup required for converting the Chase Center basketball court into a tennis arena, the Laver Cup needed the building for two weeks.
Golden State booked the Laver Cup months before it was even awarded a WNBA team, so there was nothing the organization could do to preserve the Valkyries’ first-ever playoff game at Chase. The Valkyries, who became the first expansion team to ever reach the postseason in its inaugural year, face an elimination matchup at SAP Center in San José after losing a Game 1 blowout on Sunday.
“Moving forward, the only thing I want to make sure people know is we treat the Valkyries the same way we treat the Warriors, which is how all teams should be,” Schneider said. “Which is, we’re going to protect playoff dates, all dates, and play everything we possibly can at Chase Center. And that’s been the case and that will continue to be the case. This was just a matter of timing our first year.”