Bay Area's Premier Indoor Football League Team to begin play at SAP Center at San Jose in 2022
Media Contact: Jim Sparaco – SAP Center at San Jose / (408) 504-3921 / jsparaco@sjsharks.com
SAN JOSE, Calif. (August 16, 2021) – Earlier today, at a press conference held outside the North Entrance at SAP Center at San Jose, the Bay Area Panthers (@PanthersIFL) of the Indoor Football League (www.GoIFL.com) held a press conference to formally announce the team’s relocation to SAP center and its new name, the Bay Area Panthers (formerly the Oakland Panthers).
On hand to make the announcement were Panthers Co-Owner Roy Choi, Indoor Football League Commissioner Todd Tryon, Mayor of the City of San Jose Sam Liccardo, Sharks Sports & Entertainment President Jonathan Becher, and San Jose Sports Authority Executive Director John Poch. Also in attendance were Panthers President Scott McKibben and Panthers Head Coach Kurt Bryan. San Jose Sharks television play-by-play announcer Randy Hahn emcee’d the event.
The Bay Area Panthers will begin play at SAP Center at San Jose starting in March of 2022. You can follow the Bay Area Panthers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @PanthersIFL.
The IFL is the nation’s premier indoor football league and currently playing in its 12th consecutive season. In terms of active pro football leagues, the IFL’s ongoing streak of seasonal play is only surpassed by that of the NFL.
“On behalf of Bay Area Panthers co-owner, Marshawn Lynch, and myself, we’re very excited to have our franchise emerge from dormancy and move into our new home at the SAP Center in beautiful downtown San Jose. The SAP Center is a world class venue inside and out, and the local marketplace is brimming with hotels, shops, and restaurants for our bay area fans to enjoy before and after our home games. This is a big win for Bay Area football fans that want affordable, family-friendly pro football entertainment during our spring-summer season.”
Bay Area Panthers Team President, Scott McKibben explained, “Without question this move into our new home at SAP Center provides our budding franchise with the immediate operational support and long-term runway to build our professional football business into a winner, on and off the field. Our partners at SAP Center, led by the city of San Jose, and Sharks Sports & Entertainment have developed an outstanding system that is second-to-none in terms of producing top quality, fan-friendly entertainment. SAP Center has a well-documented history of its tremendous fanbase greatly supporting indoor pro football, and we are honored to call SAP Center our new home. We are very confident that our eager fans will certainly enjoy our home games at SAP Center beginning in March of 2022, and well beyond that into the future.”
“The Sharks organization is pleased to welcome the Bay Area Panthers to San Jose, joining the list of championship caliber teams that have called SAP Center at San Jose home, including the San Jose Sharks of the NHL and San Jose Barracuda of the AHL,” said Sharks Sports & Entertainment President Jonathan Becher. “SAP Center is a world-class sports and entertainment venue, recognized recently with the GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation, a performance-based gold-standard designation awarded to facilities that have established best practices to recover from outbreaks and pandemics. We are prepared to host live events with fans and spectators in attendance in a safe and healthy environment. We look forward to hosting the Panthers and its fan base at SAP Center for the 2022 IFL season and beyond.”
Welcoming the Panthers to San Jose was Sports Authority Executive Director, John Poch who said, “Today, the IFL just got better by adding the nation’s 10th largest city as the home venue for the Silicon Valley’s newest professional sports franchise – the Bay Area Panthers. San Jose has a great history in the sport of indoor football established by the San Jose SaberCats from 1995-2015 supported by a passionate fan base at the SAP Center. As we look forward, I would like to take a moment to look back to recognize the work of John Fry and the SaberCats organization for the championship legacy they created that will provide a base for the Bay Area Panthers to build upon.”