SAP Center Information

With nearly 30 years of history, the SAP Center has seen more exciting events than many modern venues. This includes several exciting games for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL who call the facility home. 

History

Plans for the new arena began in the mid-1980s, when a group of local citizens formed Fund Arena Now (FAN). The group worked to contact city officials and potential sponsors in the NHL and NBA with the goal of funding a brand new arena in the area. Later, in the late 1980s, then mayor Tom McEnery met with FAN and set up a measure to allocate local taxes for arena construction. This was put for a public vote on June 7, 1988 and was passed by a narrow margin.

A few years later, in 1991, construction began on the new arena. It was decided that the arena would house an NHL expansion franchise, as the NHL granted San Jose the right. But plans were briefly stalled when it was discovered that the arena plans would not be sufficient for the NBA or NHL, so the Sharks requested an upgrade to NHL standards, including the addition of luxury suites, a pressbox, and increased seating capacity.

The arena was finally completed in 1993 and was initially named the “San Jose Arena”. It then became the home of the Golden State Warriors during the 1996-97 season when the teams regular court in Oakland was under renovation. 

The arena then sold naming rights to Compaq in 2001, where the venue was renamed “Compaq Center at San Jose” so it wouldn’t be confused with the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas. But when HP purchased Compaq in 2002, the arena was renamed the “HP Pavillion”, which was the same name as one of its computer models.

Then later, in June 2013, German software company SAP purchased the naming rights to the venue in a five-year deal worth $3.35 million per year. The arena was renamed “SAP Center at San Jose” upon approval by the San Jose City Council.

More SAP Center at San Jose information:

Ticket Policies:
Policies and authenticity guarantee regarding tickets from our recommended ticket marketplace.

Seating Chart:
View the standard SAP Center at San Jose seating map and read about different seating options.

Parking Information:
Information about the SAP Center parking options.