SAP Center

Lore & Background

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. The arena was principally designed by Denver architect Charles Sink, a senior partner of Sink Combs Dethlefs. 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. In 1993, the arena was completed and initially named the 'San Jose Arena'.

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. 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'. 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.

In April 2023, construction was announced on a new 10,000-square-foot penthouse lounge, with seven suites and three rows of regular seating being converted to accommodate the project. With the new premium seating completed, the arena's total attendance capacity for hockey games changed from 17,562 to 17,435. In August 2025, it was announced that the Sharks would sign an extension keeping them at the arena until 2051, with several upgrades planned for the arena totalling $425 million.

Reader's Guide

SAP Center has hosted a wide variety of events beyond hockey. In 2006, it 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. Other events 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, and UFC 139 on November 19, 2011. The arena 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. It has also hosted WWE pay-per-views such as Royal Rumble (1998), SummerSlam (2001), and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2018). The Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA played their first playoff game at the SAP Center on September 17, 2025. Beginning in 2026, SAP Center will be home to San Jose's team in the Professional Women's Hockey League. In 2026, it will host the CrossFit Games.

Did You Know?

• The arena was originally named San Jose Arena when it opened in 1993.
• In 2006, SAP Center sold the most tickets to non-sporting events of any venue in the Western United States.
• The arena's hockey capacity was reduced from 17,562 to 17,435 after a penthouse lounge was added in 2023.