Sharks oppose Google village development plans

San Jose mayor says parking, transit will improve, in contrast to what the team says

SAN JOSE >> The Sharks now officially oppose Google’s proposed transit village in downtown San Jose partly due to parking concerns — but Mayor Sam Liccardo says the tech titan’s Downtown West neighborhood will improve the parking and transit situation for the hockey team.

The dispute over the future parking and transit situation in the vicinity of the SAP Center, the sports and entertainment arena in downtown San Jose that is the home base of the Sharks, has begun to boil just ahead of a crucial Planning Commission vote today on a development agreement for Google’s transit-oriented neighborhood.

A city analysis suggests that visitors to SAP Center will have access to more parking and transportation systems once Google’s transit-oriented neighborhood is launched and evolves to completion, according to

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. The transit upgrades will occur at the Diridon train station just down the street from SAP Center.

“The vast majority of Arena customers will see an improvement in access and parking because of Downtown West,” Liccardo said in an interview. “There will be several billion dollars in transit improvements at the SAP Center’s front door.”

The Station Area Advisory Group, or SAAG, recently met to take a position on the Downtown West development agreement and voted 37-1 to support the Google village project. The Sharks cast the only no vote.

“Google and the city have worked diligently through more than 75 meetings to address the concerns of the San Jose Sharks,” Liccardo said.

In an open letter to fans and supporters, the San Jose Sharks warned that Google’s Downtown West project will undermine the viability of the SAP Center.

“We are still analyzing the project documents, but believe the city and Google are headed down a path that will be even more devastating for the future of the arena than we originally projected,” the San Jose Sharks stated in the public letter.

As a result, Sharks Sports & Entertainment, whose affiliates include the San Jose Sharks, said it opposes the Downtown West project.

The Sharks, though, remain hopeful that a deal can be struck that will satisfy the team and enable the Google transit village to proceed.

“We still believe that the Downtown West project can co-exist with a successful, thriving arena,” the Sharks stated.

The Sharks organization on April 2 issued 16 new demands for modifications to the agreement that will be the framework for how the project would take shape.

“We are committed to continuing discussions with Google and city leaders to find reasonable solutions to protect SAP Center while also maximizing the development potential of the Diridon Station area,” the Sharks said.

City officials released a document that sketches out how parking would actually increase in connection with the Downtown West project and other endeavors.

The document showed locations where seven new parking structures would be built within the footprint of the Downtown West neighborhood, and where six new parking structures would sprout next to the transit village site.

“At a minimum, an additional 350 spaces will be available for SAP Center event use within a halfmile” of the complex, the city document stated.

The Sharks have filed lawsuits, one in state court and another in federal court, that each sought to block BART’S proposed extension into downtown San Jose and the Diridon train station. The Sharks filed the state litigation against the Valley Transportation Authority and the team filed the federal lawsuit against the Federal Transit Administration.

In February 2021, a Santa Clara County judge ruled in favor of the VTA. In August 2020, a federal judge ruled in favor of the federal transit agency. The Sharks appealed both rulings.

City officials offered several scenarios that could point to improved parking and access for SAP Center visitors:

— Reaching SAP Center will require zero to seven minutes of additional travel time for event days compared with non-event days.

— SAP Center will have roughly one parking space within a half-mile for every two seats in the complex.

— Google’s Downtown West project envisions 300,000 square feet of active facilities such as restaurants, entertainment hubs, bars, shops, and cultural events within a five-minute walk of the SAP Center. City officials believe many fans will hang around for postgame events.

— The increase in activities near SAP Center could reduce what the city calls “a mad rush to the car” following an event at the Arena.

— If more amenities and thousands of homes are available near SAP Center, arrival and departure times for events at the complex could become more spread out.

City officials asserted that San Jose has provided the Sharks with an array of benefits.

These benefits include a lease extension that included concessions that bolstered the team’s operating profits by roughly $5.5 million a year from 2017 through 2025, and city approval of $155 million in municipal bonds to finance an expansion of 200,000 square feet for the Sharks Ice complex on South 10th Street.

Plus, San Jose has agreed to build a public parking garage next to SAP Center at no expense to the Sharks. The estimated cost of this structure is $40 million to $50 million, the city stated.

“The city has made major commitments to the Sharks over several years,” Liccardo said. “We delivered on those commitments.”

The San Jose City Council is scheduled to make a final decision on the development agreement for Downtown West as soon as a meeting on May 25.

“We will continue to build a vibrant downtown in which both San Jose residents and Sharks fans can take pride,” Liccardo said.