Sharks president eyes new arena lease, has questions about BART extension

SAN JOSE – After years of declining attendance and poor on-ice results, Jonathan Becher, president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, has reasons to be bullish about the future of his NHL team.

After hitting rock bottom last season, Becher says fan interest is increasing, and ticket sales are up. The Sharks own one of the top prospect pools in the NHL and will soon add a crown jewel in center Macklin Celebrini.

Becher and the Sharks are also optimistic that they can update the terms of their lease agreement for SAP Center with the City of San Jose before the deal becomes decidedly unfavorable to the organization.

The agreement the Sharks and the city reached in 2015 called for the team to play its home games at the facility on a fixed term through July 1, 2025, with the lease thereafter renewing annually through 2040. Without a new deal, the city could potentially charge the Sharks more each year to play at the arena, which has been the team’s home since 1993.

“We’d like to redo the agreement for this building before 2025, and frankly, I think the city would like to do that as well. But you’d have to ask them,” Becher said inside SAP Center on Monday after coach Ryan Warsofsky’s introductory press conference.

“If that goes the way I’d expect it to go, then we would extend the agreement probably beyond 2040.”

At a forum last month regarding downtown San Jose’s future, Mayor Matt Mahan mentioned those discussions, adding, “I’m very committed to keeping the Sharks here. Not just staying here, but growing and thriving here.”

A potential sticking point in lease negotiations would be who would pay for upgrades to the 31-year-old facility, one of the oldest in the NHL. Recent upgrades have included a new center-hung scoreboard and ice plant, with work on the south concourse also going on this summer.

Becher said talks with the city and Mayor Matt Mahan have gone well thus far.

“I would say it’s unlike some of the things you sometimes see in the Bay Area, we have a very strong relationship with the city of San Jose,” Becher said.

The Sharks’ average paid attendance this past season was 13,559, or 77.8% of SAP Center’s 17,435 seating capacity for hockey. That percentage was the lowest in the NHL, as the Sharks sold the equivalent of 8,200 full-season ticket packages for 2023-24.

Becher said ticket sales increased last month after the Sharks won the draft lottery and signed top prospect Will Smith to an entry-level contract, and noted the team got a small bump in sales last week after Warsofsky was named the next head coach.

Celebrini said he’ll decide whether to turn pro or return to Boston University after the NHL Draft later this month. Becher predicted that if and when Celebrini “actually shows up on ice, as opposed to when he declares to go pro, I think that will be another bump.

“I don’t know whether the actual announcing he’s coming is going to change the trajectory because it’s a pretty interesting trajectory. I think the time whenever he shows up, seeing him and his linemates, might give another trajectory as well.”

Becher would not say how many full-season ticket equivalents the Sharks have sold for 2024-25, “but it’ll be significantly bigger than it was last year.”

Becher said season ticket prices for 2024-25 are up 2%, with the cost of the arena’s most premium seats accounting for much of that increase. Suites on the concourse level are close to sold out, as is seating in the exclusive Penthouse Lounge. There are still several upper bowl suites available, Becher said, and corporate partnerships “are doing great.”

Becher still has questions regarding construction on BART’s long-awaited extension to Silicon Valley, which finally began last week and is expected to go underneath Santa Clara St. Becher said it will not impact SAP Center for this upcoming Sharks season.

The project, estimated to cost nearly $13 billion, includes a six-mile BART line from the Berryessa Transit Center in North San Jose through downtown and west to Santa Clara, adding four stations along the way. The line is projected to open in 2037.

“The mitigation plan from BART (on) how to make sure that it doesn’t disrupt this building has not been made public,” Becher said. “We’ve seen some early indication, and I think a lot more work still needs to be done.

“They also cannot tell us yet when exactly it will impact our building, but it’s still a ways out. It’s not like it’s going to happen this season, and it’s still a debate whether it would happen the season after that as well. So it’s not what I would call urgent. It’s important but not yet urgent.”