SAP Center

The SAP Center at San Jose (originally known as San Jose Arena) is an indoor arena located in San Jose, California. Its primary tenant is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, for which the arena has earned the nickname “The Shark Tank.” It is also home to the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League.[8]

For the German arena, see SAP Arena.

SAP Center at San Jose

The Shark Tank
Exterior of venue (c.2014)
SAP Center at San Jose Location in San Jose Show map of San Jose, California SAP Center at San Jose Location in California Show map of California SAP Center at San Jose Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Former names	San Jose Arena (1993–2001)[1] Compaq Center (2001–02) HP Pavilion (2002–13)
Address	525 West Santa Clara Street
Location	San Jose, California
Coordinates	37°19′58″N 121°54′4″W
Public transit	Amtrak ACE Caltrain VTA Light Rail Greyhound BoltBus VTA Bus: 22, 64A, 64B, 68, 168, 181, 500, 522 MST: 55, 86 at San Jose Diridon Station
Owner	City of San Jose
Operator	San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises
Capacity	Concerts: 19,190 Basketball: 18,543 Wrestling: 18,300 Ice hockey: 17,562[2] Tennis: 11,386
Field size	450,000 sq ft (42,000 m^2)
Construction
Broke ground	June 28, 1990[3]
Opened	September 7, 1993
Construction cost	$162.5 million ($318 million in 2019 dollars[4])
Architect	Sink Combs Dethlefs Prodis Associates
Project manager	HuntCor[5]
Structural engineer	Martin/Martin, Inc.[6]
Services engineer	M-E Engineers, Inc.[7]
General contractor	Perini Building Company[5]
Tenants
San Jose Sharks (NHL) (1993–present) San Jose Grizzlies (CISL) (1994–1995) SAP Open (tennis) (1994–2013) San Jose Rhinos (RHI) (1994–1997, 1999) San Jose SaberCats (AFL) (1995–2008, 2011–2015) Golden State Warriors (NBA) (1996–1997) San Jose Lasers (ABL) (1996–1998) San Jose Stealth (NLL) (2004–2009) San Jose Barracuda (AHL) (2015–present)

History

Aerial view of SAP Center from a landing at San Jose International Airport (SJC)

Side view of SAP Center

Plans for a San Jose arena began in the mid-1980s, when a group of local citizens formed Fund Arena Now (FAN). The group contacted city officials and pursued potential sponsors and partners from the NHL and NBA. In the late 1980s, mayor Tom McEnery met with FAN, and subsequently a measure to allocate local taxes for arena construction came up for a public vote on June 7, 1988, passing by a narrow margin.[9][10]

In 1991, soon after construction began, the NHL granted an expansion franchise to San Jose. After it was discovered that the arena would not be suitable for NBA or NHL use as originally designed, the Sharks requested an upgrade to NHL standards, including the addition of luxury suites, a press box, and increased seating capacity.[11]

In 1993, the arena was completed and initially named the "San Jose Arena".[1]

For the 1996–97 NBA season, the arena served as home to the Golden State Warriors while their regular home court in Oakland (now known as Oakland Arena) was under renovation.[12]

In 2001, naming rights were sold to Compaq, and it was renamed "Compaq Center at San Jose". After HP purchased Compaq in 2002, the arena was renamed "HP Pavilion", the same name as one of its computer models.[13]

In late April 2007, it was announced that the HP Pavilion at San Jose would be receiving several building improvements, including a new center-hung LED video display system from Daktronics similar to that of the TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins of the NHL.[13]

In June 2013, German software company SAP (co-founded by Sharks managing partner Hasso Plattner, who is also SAP's chairman of the board) purchased the naming rights to the facility in a five-year deal worth US$3.35 million per year. The arena was renamed "SAP Center at San Jose" upon approval by the San Jose City Council.[14]

Inside view of SAP Center during a game between the San Jose Sharks and the Calgary Flames in January 2015

Events

In 2006, the SAP Center sold the most tickets (633,435) to non-sporting events of any venue in the Western United States, and the fourth highest total in the world, after Madison Square Garden in New York City (USA), the Manchester Arena in Manchester (UK), and Scotiabank Arena in Toronto (Canada).[15]

Other events hosted at the arena include the 1996 United States Figure Skating Championships, the 47th National Hockey League All-Star Game in 1997, the 1999 NCAA Women's Final Four, ArenaBowl XVI in 2002, the 2007 USA Gymnastics Visa Championships, and UFC 139 on November 19, 2011. Intel Extreme Masters Season IX – San Jose in 2014[16] and Intel Extreme Masters Season X – San Jose were held at the venue.[17] Prior to Super Bowl 50 in nearby Santa Clara, the arena housed introductory media activities for the event.[18] The SAP Center hosted games 3, 4, and 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals in the Sharks' first appearance in franchise history, with the Cup being presented to the series-winning Pittsburgh Penguins after game 6.[19] In 2012 and 2016, the arena played host to the USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials. The arena was the host to the West Regional semifinals and finals of the 2007 and 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournaments.[20]

Mixed Martial Arts events have played a big role at the SAP Center. The MMA organization Strikeforce held many events in San Jose beginning with Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie in 2006, then Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg in 2009, through 2012 with Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier. The first Bellator MMA organization event at SAP was Bellator MMA & Glory: Dynamite 1 in September 2015 and since has held 6 total events with the most recent being Bellator 199 on May 16, 2018. SAP Center has also been the host of premiere MMA promotion the UFC. The first event was UFC 139 on November 19, 2011, then UFC on Fuel TV: Muñoz vs. Weidman on July 11, 2012, UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez on April 20, 2013, and most recently UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. Brown on July 26, 2014.

On September 18, 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions.[21]

SAP Center has also hosted WWE Pay Per Views. Payback (2017) took place where Braun Strowman defeated Roman Reigns in the main event. TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2018) took place at SAP Center.[22]

References

1. "2011-2012 San Jose Sharks Media Guide" (PDF). Downloads.sharks.nhl.com. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
2. Pollak, David (September 10, 2009). "The futility of chasing Marleau-Heatley rumors — plus an economic update from HP Pavilion". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
3. "Carry Me Back to the Old Sod". San Jose Mercury News. June 17, 1990. p. 2C. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
4. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
5. "Facts & Figures". HP Pavlion at San Jose. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
6. "Martin/Martin, Inc. Website". Martin/Martin, Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
7. "Arenas". M-E Engineers, Inc. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
8. "San Jose's 'Shark Tank' gets new name". Usatoday.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
9. Purdy, Mark (July 7, 2008). "Arena vote 20 years ago made San Jose a real city". San Jose Mercury News. p. 1A. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
10. Cameron, Steve (1994). Feeding Frenzy! The Wild New World of the San Jose Sharks. Taylor Publishing Co. pp. 43, 51–52.
11. Cameron, Steve (1994). Feeding Frenzy! The Wild New World of the San Jose Sharks. Taylor Publishing Co. pp. 51–56.
12. "Golden State Warriors 2014-15 Media Guide" (PDF). National Basketball Association. October 10, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
13. "HP Pavilion Becoming Tech Testing Lab for Arena Improvements". SportsBusiness Daily. April 17, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
14. Donato-Weinstein, Nathan (June 5, 2013). "Confirmed: Goodbye, HP Pavilion. Hello, SAP Center". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
15. "2006 Year End Ticket Sales" (PDF). Pollstar. January 17, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
16. Bailey, Brandon (September 16, 2014). "Game on: Big video-game tournament coming to San Jose". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
17. Gu, Rachel (November 15, 2015). "Mark Cuban Wants to Play League of Legends". Retrieved November 16, 2015.
18. "SAP CENTER IN SAN JOSE TO HOST SUPER BOWL 50 OPENING NIGHT". KGO-TV. February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
19. "Pittsburgh Penguins - San Jose Sharks - June 12th, 2016". NHL.com. June 12, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
20. "March Madness: Which teams might play in Final Four in San Jose?". Retrieved April 17, 2017.
21. "2016 Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions takes center stage beginning Sept. 15". usagym.org. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
22. Fuentes, Jon. "TLC PPV Location Announced, Interesting Venues Considered For WM 35 Week". Sescoops.

External links

• Official website
• Architect's Website

Events and tenants
Preceded by Cow Palace	Home of the San Jose Sharks 1993 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by DCU Center (as the Worcester Sharks)	Home of the San Jose Barracuda 2015 –	Succeeded by current
Preceded by Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena	Home of the Golden State Warriors 1996 – 1997	Succeeded by Oracle Arena
Preceded by Fleet Center Amalie Arena	Host of the NHL All-Star Game 1997 2019	Succeeded by General Motors Place Enterprise Center