A new arena makes its debut in the South Bay on Wednesday as the San Jose Sharks minor league hockey club, the Barracuda, was set to open the doors to its new home at the Sharks Ice complex.
Tech CU Arena, with a capacity of 4,300, was custom built for the American Hockey League affiliate to the Sharks but also will be open for the community to enjoy and for the Sharks to hold practices, according to Jon Gustafson, general manager of SAP Center and Sharks Ice.
"We're not just about hockey," Gustafson said. "We have figure skating, birthday parties, corporate events … something for everyone."
There are new bars, concessions, suites and boxes for Barracuda games, but the arena is just one part of a 200,000-square-foot expansion at Sharks Ice, nearly doubling the facility's capacity.
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"Every game will be exciting and loud. That’s what the players want," Gustafson said. "This is a development league where they’re earning their chops and hopefully making it into the NHL team the San Jose Sharks."
The extra space means more ice for the Sharks to practice on as well as for youth hockey, ice skating, curling, broomball and other community and private events.
The Barracuda's play-by-play broadcaster, Nick Nollenberger, first set foot in the facility when he was a youth player.
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"It’s incredible what this facility is from what it was; when I was a young kid, there were two rinks, it was called the Ice Center," he said. "It’s changed names over the years, it's grown, and when they added two additional sheets it was incredible. Now we’re at six, including this fabulous arena."
The Barracuda christen Tech CU Arena with an exhibition game Oct. 4 against the Bakersfield Condors. They play their first regular season AHL game at their new home Oct. 22 against the Henderson Silver Knights.
