Talking about the Shark Tank
The San Jose Sharks play at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Before they played there, they played at the Cow Palace. The Sharks played there from 1991 to 1993. Today, the Sharks are the main tenant of the SAP Center, better known as the ‘Shark Tank’. The facility seats 19,190 people for concerts. The facility can also seat 18,543 people for NBA games. However, it only seats 18,300 people for wrestling events. The SAP Center is an excellent NHL facility as it can seat 17,435 people for NHL games. Also, the SAP center can host tennis matches with 11,386 people.
The SAP center also opened its doors on September 7, 1993. Although this wasn’t the first arena for the Sharks, it has become the most notable. Their AHL affiliate played there from 2015 to 2022.
There were many notable events at the “Shark Tank”. In 2016, the Sharks would play games 3, 4, and 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. The SAP center also hosted NCAA basketball. In 2017, the men’s NCAA basketball tournament games would be hosted there. The arena would also host the first and second-round games of the 2010, 2013, and 2019 tournaments. The annual US Figure Skating Championships have been staged here at the SAP Center five times now. It hosted the 1996, 2012, 2018, 2021, and 2023 annual US Figure Skating Championships.
The Shark Tank is an NHL standard arena for the Sharks. It is the second home for the San Jose Sharks. It has hosted many notable events at the facility. Stars such as Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski have built a legacy at this facility. Most teams don’t have an arena that they have played at for 90% of their existence. This is likely one arena that will last for quite some time.