Compaq Offers Millions to Self-Title Sharks' Arena

SAN JOSE, CA-Compaq is offering the city officials all kinds of money in order to change the name of San Jose Arena to Compaq Center. A Compaq company source tells GlobeSt.com that the firm will pay $47 million over the next 15 years as part of the marketing partnership. In addition, Compaq will provide $70 million for San Jose’s general fund, and $22 million for the eight-year-old Arena’s reserve fund. Also a part of the deal, the San Jose Sharks hockey team extended its lease in the structure through the next 10 years.

The San Jose City Council will review the proposed deal during an executive session on Oct. 24. If they give it the thumbs-up, it will then go before a public hearing before the end of this year. If approved by the Council, the name change will take effect in December.

The Arena is hardly the first Bay Area sports venue to go corporate with naming rights. San Francisco’s Candlestick Park has become 3Com Park, and the Oakland Coliseum is now the Network Associates Coliseum.

In fact, the San Jose Arena is not the only venue that will bear Compaq’s name–the firm has also gained naming rights to the sports arena in Houston, TX and says it is looking for other similar opportunities. Most other hockey venues also bear corporate names.

Compaq has more than 3,000 employees in Silicon Valley.