SAP Center Tickets

SAP Center has changed names as many times as rapper Sean John Combs, even though it’s half his age. Quick name changes are par for the course in Silicon Valley, so it’s a safe bet that this name too, shall pass. Because maps and people may be slow to catch on to venue name changes, it is helpful to know SAP’s previous incarnations as San Jose Arena then Compaq Center at San Jose until most recently HP Pavilion. No matter what official name is on the books, hockey fans know SAP Center as “The Shark Tank,” the home ice of the San Jose Sharks.

A recent agreement between The Sharks and the City of San Jose guarantees the Sharks will play at SAP Center through at least 2025. The Shark Tank is known for being one of the most exciting and loudest venues in the National Hockey League. 

Newly relocated (and renamed) The San Jose Barracuda, an American Hockey League franchise, will start their first season at SAP in late 2015.

Sharks season is apparent immediately. Fans in teal jerseys, caps, shark heads converge en masse toward the arena. License plates, yards and windows for miles around state “This Is Sharks Territory.” On game night, fans swarm to The Shark Tank carrying along unsuspecting bystanders into their horde. 

When SAP Center isn’t hosting hockey, it hosts the San Jose SaberCats Arena Football League team or features entertainers such as Lady Gaga, Sting and Kevin Hart.

Fan Author: Judy Jones / Photo Credit: Doug Kerr