SAP Center at San Jose

SAP Center at San Jose
The Shark Tank

North entrance of the arena in 2008 when it was known as HP Pavilion at San Jose
Former names San Jose Arena (1993–2001)[1]
Compaq Center (2001–02)
HP Pavilion (2002–13)
Location 525 West Santa Clara Street
San Jose, California
United States
Coordinates 37°19′58″N 121°54′4″W / 37.33278°N 121.90111°WCoordinates: 37°19′58″N 121°54′4″W / 37.33278°N 121.90111°W
Public transit AmtrakAltamont Corridor ExpressCaltrainSanta Clara VTA Diridon Station
Owner City of San Jose
Operator San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises
Capacity Concerts: 19,190
Basketball: 18,549
Wrestling: 18,300
Ice hockey: 17,562[2]
Tennis: 11,386
Field size 450,000 square feet (42,000 m2)
Construction
Broke ground June 28, 1990[3]
Opened September 7, 1993
Construction cost $162.5 million
($265 million in 2015 dollars[4])
Architect Sink Combs Dethlefs
Prodis Associates
Project manager HuntCor[5]
Structural engineer John A. Martin & Associates[6]
Services engineer M-E Engineers, Inc.[7]
General contractor Perini Building Company[5]
Tenants
San Jose Sharks (NHL) (1993–present)
San Jose Barracuda (AHL) (2015– )
San Jose Sabercats (AFL) (1995–2008, 2011–present)
Golden State Warriors (NBA) (1996–1997)
San Jose Stealth (NLL) (2004–2009)
San Jose Grizzlies (CISL) (1994–1995)
San Jose Lasers (ABL) (1996–1998)
San Jose Rhinos (RHI) (1994–1997)
SAP Open (tennis) (1994–2013)

The SAP Center at San Jose (formerly San Jose Arena, Compaq Center at San Jose and HP Pavilion at San Jose) is an American indoor arena, located in San Jose, California. Its primary tenant is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, and the arena has been nicknamed the "Shark Tank".[8]

History

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 NHL and NBA. In the late 1980s, mayor Tom McEnery met with FAN and a measure to allocate local taxes for arena construction came up for a public vote on June 7, 1988, and passed by a narrow margin.[9][10]

Side view of the arena

Construction began in 1991 and was delayed after the San Jose Sharks requested an upgrade to NHL standards including the addition of luxury suites, a press box and increased seating capacity.[11] The arena was completed in 1993 under the name San Jose Arena. 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. It was announced in late April 2007 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 Banknorth Garden, home of the Boston Bruins of the NHL.[12]

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 $3.35 million per year. The arena was renamed "SAP Center at San Jose" following the approval of the San Jose City Council.[13]

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 Evening News Arena in Manchester (UK), and the Air Canada Centre in Toronto (Canada).[14] The SAP Center hosted events for WWE such as the 1998 Royal Rumble, 2001 SummerSlam and 2007 Great American Bash. It also hosted the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, as well as the episode of WWE Raw the day after WrestleMania 31. 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.

In early 2014, pop superstar Miley Cyrus performed in the arena during her Bangerz World Tour making it the third time she performed in the arena[15] since her first performance on November 4, 2007 during her Best of Both Worlds Tour.[16] On September 20, 2009, Cyrus returned to the arena during her popular Wonder World Tour with a crowd of 13,100 people grossing $835,071.[17]

References

  1. 2011-2012 San Jose Sharks Media Guide
  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. Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2014. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Facts & Figures". HP Pavlion at San Jose. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  6. "Entertainment Projects". John A. Martin & Associates. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  7. "Arenas". M-E Engineers, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  8. (July 10, 2013) San Jose Sharks shark tank HP-pavilion Sap Center, USA Today
  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. "HP Pavilion Becoming Tech Testing Lab for Arena Improvements". SportsBusiness Daily. April 17, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  13. "Confirmed: Goodbye, HP Pavilion. Hello, SAP Center". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Jun 5, 2013. Retrieved Jun 5, 2013.
  14. "2006 Year End Ticket Sales" (PDF). Pollstar. January 17, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
  15. Bangerz Tour dates
  16. Best of Both Worlds Tour dates
  17. Wonder World Tour dates

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SAP Center at San Jose.
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
The Arena in Oakland
Preceded by
Fleet Center
Host of the
NHL All-Star Game

1997
Succeeded by
General Motors Place