HP Pavilion
Encyclopedia
The HP Pavilion at San Jose, formerly known as Compaq Center at San Jose and San Jose Arena is an indoor arena, located at 525 West Santa Clara Street, in San Jose, California
.
The arena is also commonly called The Shark Tank or The Tank, both of which come from its primary tenant, the San Jose Sharks
of the National Hockey League
.
and NBA
franchises. In the late 1980s, then-San Jose mayor Tom McEnery
met with FAN and helped to make their plans reality. Eventually, a measure was introduced that would allocate local taxes toward building an arena in San Jose's growing downtown, which would be voted on June 7, 1988. The measure passed by a narrow margin: 73,409 to 64,140. The plans for the arena would eventually be one of the reasons that George and Gordon Gund would locate their new Bay Area NHL franchise in San Jose, which would eventually become the San Jose Sharks
.
Construction of the arena began in 1991, and was originally slated to open in 1992. The construction ran into a rather sizable delay, however, when the management for the San Jose Sharks realized the arena had been designed for community use, and that it needed a drastic redesign to upgrade the arena to NHL standards. Most notably, the original arena design had no luxury suites or a press box
, with the introduction of the former to the original plans would have reduced the arena's seating capacity
to 14,000. The time taken to redesign the arena delayed the opening of the building to 1993, forcing the Sharks to play an additional season at the Cow Palace
.
The arena opened in 1993 as the San Jose Arena. In 2001, naming rights
were sold to Compaq
, and the facility became Compaq Center at San Jose; the geographic identifier was needed because at the time, there was a Compaq Center in Houston. After HP
purchased Compaq in 2002, the company chose to name the arena the HP Pavilion, a moniker given to the venue after one of HP's prevalent 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 centerhung LED
video display system from Daktronics
similar to that of the TD Banknorth Garden, home of the Boston Bruins
of the NHL.
With the addition of the new video and sound system, the existing control room was transformed into an additional luxury suite. A new video control room was constructed on the lower level of the arena. The sound console was moved to the broadcast pit, joining Sharks TV, Sharks radio, and visiting TV. Visiting radio was moved to an auxiliary location in the catwalk on the bench side of the arena.
of the National Hockey League
and the San Jose SaberCats
of the Arena Football League. It is also the venue for the annual SAP Open
men's tennis tournament.
The facility has also been home to the Golden State Warriors
of the NBA during reconstruction of the Oakland Coliseum Arena, and the defunct San Jose Rhinos
of RHI
, San Jose Grizzlies
of the CISL
and the San Jose Stealth
of the National Lacrosse League
.
, and the fourth highest total in the world, after Madison Square Garden
in New York City
, the Manchester Evening News Arena
in Manchester
, and the Air Canada Centre
in Toronto
.
The arena has hosted many WWE events in the past, most notably the Royal Rumble in 1998
and WWE's SummerSlam in 2001
. It also held WWE's The Great American Bash in 2007
. It will later hold the August 8, 2011 episode of RAW
(the last Raw before SummerSlam 2011
) in the Pavilion.
It has also played host for other sporting events, such as the U.S. Figure Skating
Championships, the NCAA
Basketball
tournament (known as March Madness
), the Pac-10 women's basketball championship, and the Dew Action Sports Tour.
HP Pavilion hosts the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
every year. Trains are usually parked in nearby Milpitas. However, in 2008, the train was parked on the Vasona Branch.
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
.
The arena is also commonly called The Shark Tank or The Tank, both of which come from its primary tenant, the San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
.
History
Plans for an arena in San Jose go back to the mid-1980s, when a group of local citizens formed Fund Arena Now (FAN), a group dedicated to getting an indoor arena built in the city. The group spent much of its time pushing city officials to build such a structure while at the same time selling the possibility of the building to interested groups, namely NHLNational Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
franchises. In the late 1980s, then-San Jose mayor Tom McEnery
Tom McEnery
Tom McEnery is an American author, businessman, and teacher from San Jose, California, who served as the 61st mayor of that city from 1983 to 1991.McEnery attended Santa Clara University, graduating with a B.A. in 1967 and an M.A. in 1970...
met with FAN and helped to make their plans reality. Eventually, a measure was introduced that would allocate local taxes toward building an arena in San Jose's growing downtown, which would be voted on June 7, 1988. The measure passed by a narrow margin: 73,409 to 64,140. The plans for the arena would eventually be one of the reasons that George and Gordon Gund would locate their new Bay Area NHL franchise in San Jose, which would eventually become the San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
.
Construction of the arena began in 1991, and was originally slated to open in 1992. The construction ran into a rather sizable delay, however, when the management for the San Jose Sharks realized the arena had been designed for community use, and that it needed a drastic redesign to upgrade the arena to NHL standards. Most notably, the original arena design had no luxury suites or a press box
Press box
The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box. In general, newspaper writers sit in this box and write about the on-field event as it unfolds...
, with the introduction of the former to the original plans would have reduced the arena's seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
to 14,000. The time taken to redesign the arena delayed the opening of the building to 1993, forcing the Sharks to play an additional season at the Cow Palace
Cow Palace
Cow Palace is an indoor arena, in Daly City, California, situated on the city's border with neighboring San Francisco, notable as a sporting arena.-History:...
.
The arena opened in 1993 as the San Jose Arena. In 2001, naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
were sold to Compaq
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
, and the facility became Compaq Center at San Jose; the geographic identifier was needed because at the time, there was a Compaq Center in Houston. After HP
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
purchased Compaq in 2002, the company chose to name the arena the HP Pavilion, a moniker given to the venue after one of HP's prevalent computer models
HP Pavilion (computer)
HP Pavilion is a line of personal computers produced by Hewlett-Packard and introduced in 1995. The name is applied to both desktops and laptops for the Home and Home Office product range....
.
It was announced in late April 2007 that the HP Pavilion at San Jose would be receiving several building improvements, including a new centerhung LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
video display system from Daktronics
Daktronics
Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
similar to that of the TD Banknorth Garden, home of the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
of the NHL.
With the addition of the new video and sound system, the existing control room was transformed into an additional luxury suite. A new video control room was constructed on the lower level of the arena. The sound console was moved to the broadcast pit, joining Sharks TV, Sharks radio, and visiting TV. Visiting radio was moved to an auxiliary location in the catwalk on the bench side of the arena.
Tenants
HP Pavilion at San Jose houses the San Jose SharksSan Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and the San Jose SaberCats
San Jose SaberCats
The San Jose SaberCats are a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 1995 expansion team. They played in the Western Division of the American Conference. Their final coach in the original Arena Football League was Darren Arbet, who will be a part of the...
of the Arena Football League. It is also the venue for the annual SAP Open
SAP Open
The SAP Open is a men's tennis tournament held annually in San Jose, California. It is the second-oldest tennis tournament in the United States, which is still played. It is an ATP World Tour 250 series event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour...
men's tennis tournament.
The facility has also been home to the Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
of the NBA during reconstruction of the Oakland Coliseum Arena, and the defunct San Jose Rhinos
San Jose Rhinos
The San Jose Rhinos were an inline hockey team in Roller Hockey International from 1994-97. In its second year, the team won the Murphy Cup with a victory over the Montreal Roadrunners in the championship game. The team played its home games at the San Jose Arena....
of RHI
Roller Hockey International
Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey....
, San Jose Grizzlies
San Jose Grizzlies
San Jose Grizzlies were a professional indoor soccer team based in San Jose, California. The team was founded on November 24, 1993 as a member of the Continental Indoor Soccer League. After playing in the 1994 and 1995 CISL seasons, the Grizzlies folded following the 1995 season. The team played...
of the CISL
Continental Indoor Soccer League
The Continental Indoor Soccer League was an indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997.-History:When the Major Soccer League folded in the summer of 1992, two of its former teams joined a group of hockey and basketball arena owners led by Ron Weinstein who wanted to create a league to...
and the San Jose Stealth
San Jose Stealth
The San Jose Stealth were a member of the National Lacrosse League, the professional box lacrosse league of North America from 2004 until 2009. They played at the HP Pavilion at San Jose, which is also the home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks and the AFL's San Jose SaberCats. They relocated to San...
of the National Lacrosse League
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...
.
Other events
HP Pavilion hosts an average of 190 events a year, including many non-sporting events. In 2006, the HP Pavilion sold the most tickets to non-sporting events of any venue in the Western United StatesWestern United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, and the fourth highest total in the world, after Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the Manchester Evening News Arena
Manchester Evening News Arena
The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, and the Air Canada Centre
Air Canada Centre
The Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located on Bay Street in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.The arena is popularly known as the ACC or the Hangar ....
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
The arena has hosted many WWE events in the past, most notably the Royal Rumble in 1998
Royal Rumble (1998)
Royal Rumble was the eleventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 18, 1998 at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California....
and WWE's SummerSlam in 2001
SummerSlam (2001)
SummerSlam was the fourteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 19, 2001 at the Compaq Center in San Jose, California...
. It also held WWE's The Great American Bash in 2007
The Great American Bash (2007)
The Great American Bash was the fourth annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
. It will later hold the August 8, 2011 episode of RAW
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
(the last Raw before SummerSlam 2011
SummerSlam (2011)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on August 14, 2011. For the third consecutive year, SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it was the 24th annual SummerSlam event...
) in the Pavilion.
It has also played host for other sporting events, such as the U.S. Figure Skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
Championships, the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
tournament (known as March Madness
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
), the Pac-10 women's basketball championship, and the Dew Action Sports Tour.
HP Pavilion hosts the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...
every year. Trains are usually parked in nearby Milpitas. However, in 2008, the train was parked on the Vasona Branch.
Notable events hosted at HP Pavilion
- January 18–21, 1996 - 1996 United States Figure Skating ChampionshipsUnited States Figure Skating ChampionshipsThe United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
- January 18, 1997 - 47th National Hockey League All-Star Game47th National Hockey League All-Star GameThe 47th National Hockey League All-Star Game took place on January 18, 1997 at the San Jose Arena. The final score was Eastern Conference 11, Western Conference 7. This game was originally scheduled for the 1994-95 season, but was cancelled due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.-Super Skills...
- January 18, 1998 - WWF Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble (1998)Royal Rumble was the eleventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 18, 1998 at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California....
- March 28, 1999 - 1999 NCAA Women's Final Four
- August 19, 2001 - WWF SummerSlamSummerSlam (2001)SummerSlam was the fourteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 19, 2001 at the Compaq Center in San Jose, California...
- August 18, 2002 - ArenaBowl XVIArenaBowl XVIArenaBowl XVI was played between the San Jose SaberCats and Arizona Rattlers in San Jose, California on August 18, 2002. A game with considerable expectations given the teams' intense rivalry and respective success that year, the SaberCats surprised everyone by posting the most dominant victory in...
- March 10, 2006 - StrikeforceStrikeforceStrikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...
: ShamrockFrank ShamrockFrank Shamrock is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion...
vs. GracieCesar GracieCesar Gracie is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who trains a number of top fighters in Pleasant Hill, California. Gracie is a member of the Gracie family, the son of Sonja Gracie-Gronning and not to be confused with his cousin also named Cesar Gracie who is the son of Reylson Gracie.- Biography...
- Largest recorded audience for a legal mixed martial artsMixed martial artsMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
event in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - March 22–24, 2007 - 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball West Regional
- July 22, 2007 - WWE The Great American BashThe Great American Bash (2007)The Great American Bash was the fourth annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
- August 15–18, 2007 - 2007 USA Gymnastics Visa Championships
- March 7, 2009 - Joel JulioJoel JulioJoel Jalil Julio Mejia is a professional Colombian boxer rated as a junior middleweight. In 2005, he was named ESPN.com's Boxing Prospect of the Year and he has appeared on Ring Magazine's New Faces feature, as well as in ShoBox.-Professional career:Julio's first loss was a 12 round unanimous...
vs. James KirklandJames Kirkland (boxer)James Derick Kirkland is an American professional boxer.Kirkland fights at light middleweight, and is the WBO NABO light middleweight title holder... - August 15, 2009 - StrikeforceStrikeforceStrikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...
: CaranoGina CaranoGina Joy Carano is an American model, actress, and mixed martial arts fighter. Carano appeared as the Gladiator "Crush" on American Gladiators...
vs. CyborgCristiane SantosCristiane Justino Venancio Santos is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and the Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion . Santos won the title on August 15, 2009 by defeating Gina Carano via TKO...
- First female headlined MMA event - June 26, 2010 - Strikeforce: Fedor vs. WerdumStrikeforce: Fedor vs. WerdumStrikeforce / M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce on June 26, 2010 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.-Background:...
- Greatest upsets in Mixed Martial Arts history. - November 19, 2011 - First UFCUltimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
hosted MMA match at HP Pavilion. UFC 139UFC 139UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2011 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, USA...
Fictitious events
- April 9, 1998 - Ed, portrayed by Matthew McConaugheyMatthew McConaugheyMatthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
, drives a ZamboniIce resurfacerAn ice resurfacer is a truck-like vehicle or smaller device used to clean and smooth the surface of an ice rink. The first ice resurfacer was developed by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949 in the city of Paramount, California...
at a San Jose SharksSan Jose SharksThe San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
game in the movie EDtvEdTVEDtv is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Ron Howard. An adaptation of the Quebec film Louis 19, le roi des ondes , it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Landau, Rob Reiner, Sally Kirkland, Elizabeth Hurley, Clint Howard, and Dennis Hopper.The...
.