Sharks sue to slow BART San Jose extension in parking dispute
The San Jose Sharks, locked in an NHL playoff battle, unleashed a different kind of fight this week, filing a lawsuit to slow the BART extension to downtown San Jose until a dispute over parking can be resolved.
Sharks Sports & Entertainment, the entity that owns the hockey team and manages the SAP Center, filed the suit Thursday in Santa Clara County Superior Court against the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which is planning and building the extension.
BART, which would operate the extension, and the Federal Transit Administration, which is expected to help fund the $4.7 billion project, are also named in the suit.
The suit comes a month after the VTA approved environmental studies for the BART extension through downtown San Jose to Santa Clara, and a week after BART agreed. Plans include a stop at Diridon Station, across Santa Clara Street from the arena, which hosts not only Sharks games but concerts and other events.
VTA officials hope to persuade federal transit officials to grant $1.5 billion to help pay for the 6-mile extension.
The Sharks seek to rescind the environmental approval and have the studies redone to deal with what they consider inadequate plans for parking at the Diridon BART Station.
“We strongly support the BART project through downtown San Jose,” said Sharks President John Tortora in a statement. “However, we don’t think the current plan addresses several important issues for SAP Center, including a promise to ensure adequate parking in the Diridon area and a safe and accessible environment for our customers during construction.”
VTA officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Sharks Sports & Entertainment contends in the suit that the VTA reneged on plans to build an eightstory parking garage at the station and that construction of the BART station will consume 715 existing spaces used by arena patrons. The suit suggests that will create a traffic mess that will drive away business.
“It is ... obvious that the arena, as well as nearby bars and restaurants that depend on event center activities to support their own businesses, will be severely impacted by these unmitigated traffic disruptions,” the suit states. “Unlike commuters, who when faced with transportation challenges tend to persevere in order to reach their home or place of employment, entertainment-goers are far less inclined to tolerate poor access.”
Sharks officials say that only about 7 percent of people attending events at the arena, commonly known as the Shark Tank, take public transportation. While BART will provide easy access to the arena, they expect that in 20 years, 80 percent of fans will still drive there.