Taylor Lupetti (@tayclupetti):
San Jose Sharks mascot S.J. Sharkie will no longer be the only fish at the SAP Center.
Yesterday, the San Jose Sharks unveiled a big addition to SAP Center with their pre-season just around the corner —a 2,000 gallon fish tank.
“It was a very large undertaking,” said Sharks Chief Operating Officer John Totora. “We started with the idea in December and here we are nine months later so we had to move very quickly.”
Built by the cast and crew of the Animal Planet television show, “Tanked,” the fish will be proudly displayed in the BMW Lounge, another new addition to SAP Center. Partnering with BMW, the Sharks are now offering access to this exclusive lounge to the first three rows of the arena, a little over 450 people.
“When we came up with the idea of the BMW lounge, we figured the best center piece for the lounge would be a shark tank,” Totora said.
The tank is home to many different types of fish and other aquatic creatures, such as emperor fish and several baby leopard sharks that are surrounded by coral.
In addition, the tank holds several hockey sticks, a helmet, puck and the iconic shark head that the players skate through at the beginning of every game. Displayed boldly in the center is the Sharks’ logo.
“We probably should have done this years ago,” Totora said. “But we are doing it now and most importantly, we are going to be able to keep the fish safe.”
The Sharks hired professionals to help maintain the tank and to ensure the fish are well taken care of.
The tank was unveiled to the 250 members of the Sharks Organization, but will be open to the public on September 19 when the Sharks’ pre-season begins.
The episode on “Tanked” will be aired sometime in the fall to show everyone how the tank was constructed and ended up at SAP Center.
