San Jose Sharks Fans to Get Mobile App Options

The business software firm SAP celebrated Tuesday becoming the namesake for the new SAP Center and announced that starting this fall it would launch its own mobile applications for San Jose Sharks fans to use before and during games.

About 2,000 employees bused to San Jose from as far away as SAP
offices in Dublin and Palo Alto cheered and beat inflated "bam-bams" during a ceremony inside the 17,000-seat arena, formerly the HP Pavilion, just outside downtown San Jose.

"This is an unbelievable arena here," Hasso Plattner, the billionaire chairman of the Germany-based software firm SAP and majority owner of the Sharks NHL team, told the crowd.

"Look at how it looks and it is 20-plus years old, it looks like it opened last year," Plattner said. "Everything works, it's such a good feeling here."

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, sharing a stage with Plattner, SAP co-chief executive Bill McDermott and Sharks chief operating officer John Tortora, cut a ribbon and a giant video screen behind him displayed animated views of the arena with SAP's yellow logo.

"This is a really an important building to the city," Reed said. "It runs at a cash-positive to the city, which you can't say about many public buildings."

"We love the excitement that it brings to our downtown and what it adds to our community in terms of great things to do and makes it an interesting place to live and work," Reed said.

McDermott said that by the time the Sharks start the 2013-14 NHL season in October, SAP will debut its own digital applications for Sharks fans to use on smartphones and other devices before games and after they arrive at the arena.

"You can play with all the data of your favorite players as the fan and look at their statistics and get all excited about what records they might be going for," McDermott said.

"And then you get to the game, and they know you," McDermott said. "They know what seat you're in, they know why you matter, they know it's your birthday, there are special one-to-one offers that are just for you."

Fans will also have the option of paying more to have food and drinks delivered to their seat, ordered via their hand-held device, without having to stand in line, McDermott said.

McDermott said he has discussed with San Francisco 49ers chief executive Jed York about applying some of the 49ers' digital innovations for pro football to the Sharks hockey team, such as player scouting and recruiting applications for team rosters.

Using player statistical data, SAP can help the team consider what players to draft and things like calculating team salary caps and also give fans access to player data, McDermott said.

The Sharks' Tortora said that the team continues to play at the SAP Center because it has a strong fan base and now with SAP's software tools intends to enhance fan enjoyment beyond watching the games.

"We're looking forward to bringing more fan innovation to you, better game experience, better concert experience through technology," Tortora said.

"We are endeavoring to increase the entertainment value for you so
that when you come to the arena you can enjoy the product on the ice or on
stage but also what's on your cellphone as well."

SAP bought the naming rights to the former HP Pavilion arena earlier this year, agreeing to pay the city of San Jose $8.3 million over five years, according to its contract with the city.

Plattner said SAP got into the process of obtaining the rights after a casual conversation with Meg Whitman, chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, when that company was still the arena's namesake.

"Walking (with) her to the park, we had a nice chat," he said. "I asked her what it is about HP Pavilion, and she said, 'Do you want it?' And I said, 'Oh.'"

"This is one of the great locations in the United States were you can show your logo," he said. "It looks great from outside. I love the architecture."