{{Short description|Multipurpose indoor arena owned and operated by San Jose State University (SJSU)}} {{Infobox venue | name = Provident Credit Union Event Center | nickname = | logo_image = Provident Credit Union Event Center Logo.png | logo_caption = Official logo since 2019 | image = [[File:SJSU Event Center.jpg|250px|The Event Center, October 2010]] | caption = The entrance to Event Center Arena, October 2010 | mapframe-zoom = 15 | former_names = Event Center Arena {{small|(1989-2019)}} | location = 290 South 7th Street<br>[[San Jose, California]] 95192 | coordinates = {{coord|37.33536|N|121.87985|W|display=inline,title}} | mapframe = yes | public_transit = {{rail-interchange|santaclara}} {{rint|light rail}}: [[Paseo de San Antonio (VTA)|Paseo de San Antonio]]<br>{{rail-interchange|santaclara}} {{rint|bus|1}}: [[List of Santa Clara VTA bus routes#Regular bus service|72]], [[List of Santa Clara VTA bus routes#Regular bus service|73]]<br>{{rint|bus|1}} [[Highway 17 Express]] | broke_ground = October 1, 1986 | opened = September 8, 1989 | closed = | demolished = | owner = [[San Jose State University]] | operator = San Jose State University | surface = Hardwood | construction_cost = $31 million {{small|({{abbr|approx.|approximately}} $80.26 million by December 2025)}} | architect = | tenants = [[San Jose State Spartans]] ([[NCAA]]) (1989–present)<br>[[San Jose Jammers]] ([[Continental Basketball Association|CBA]]) (1989–1991) <br>[[San Jose Lasers]] ([[American Basketball League (1996–1998)|ABL]]) (1996–1998) | seating_capacity = * 5,000 (basketball) * 6,000 (concerts) }}
The '''Provident Credit Union Event Center''', formerly and more commonly known as the '''Event Center''',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/studentunion/eventcenter/ |title=Provident Credit Union Event Center at San José State University | Student Union, Inc. Of SJSU | San Jose State University}}</ref> is a complex consisting of an [[indoor arena]] and a fitness club on the main campus of [[San Jose State University|San José State University (SJSU)]] in downtown [[San Jose, California]]. The Event Center was built in 1989 for the purpose of supporting and providing entertainment as well as recreational opportunities for the student body and university community. The facility is home to the [[San Jose State Spartans]] men's and women's [[basketball]] teams, which both compete in the [[Mountain West Conference]].
Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, the Event Center at SJSU is the premier mid-size venue in Northern California. The Event Center was designed to accommodate many different events, including musical concerts, sporting events, conferences and corporate parties.
The Event Center also housed a fully equipped student recreation center, which comprised basketball and racquetball courts and a weight room, before it was replaced in 2019 by a much larger, $130 million facility located next door to the arena.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2019/sjsu-opens-130-million-spartan-recreation-and-aquatic-center/|title = SJSU Opens $130 Million Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center | SJSU Newsroom}}</ref>
== History == Prior to the Event Center's inception, SJSU's men's basketball team used to play at the [[San Jose Civic Auditorium]] and the Spartan Gym ({{Abbr|nka|now known as}} [[Yosh Uchida]] Hall).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hildebrand |first=Chuck |date=December 3, 1987 |title=Basketball in the WCAC is beginning to achieve credibility |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/845882125/ |work=[[Peninsula Times Tribune]] |location=Palo Alto, California, U.S. |page=B-3 |language=en |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Talks for a better basketball arena started when head coach [[Bill Berry (basketball)|Bill Berry]] arrived in 1979, and during a time when Spartan Gym became increasingly overcrowded with bookings to utilize its buildings for recreation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Hildebrand |first=Chuck |date=December 16, 1986 |title=Mound of earth, solid team put Berry in a good mood |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/846499964/ |work=[[Peninsula Times Tribune]] |page=B-1 |language=en |publication-place=San Jose, California, U.S. |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Tracie Dyan |date=August 19, 1989 |title=SJSU recreation center opens late, over budget |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/841860977 |work=[[Peninsula Times Tribune]] |pages=B1–B2 |language=en |publication-place=San Jose, California, U.S. |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
Funding for the arena started in 1982<ref name=":1" /> and an official announcement, from SJSU, to build the arena came in March 1984 as a recreation and events center that would serve the basketball and [[San Jose State Spartans women's volleyball|women's volleyball]] teams<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chapin |first=Dwight |date=October 2, 1990 |title=Till a loss do us part? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/461564355/ |work=[[San Francisco Examiner]] |page=B-2 |language=en |publication-place=San Jose, California, U.S. |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>, host concerts, have a recreation facility, and have a 50-meter indoor swimming pool.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 18, 1984 |title=San Jose State to raise student fees |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/845669617/ |work=[[Peninsula Times Tribune]] |page=A-5 |language=en |publication-place=San Jose, California, U.S. |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=The $38 [student] fee will be in effect for 30 years to raise about $21 million for a new student center, which will be built near Seventh and San Carlos streets on a site now occupied by a parking lot. Student Union Director Ron Barrett said construction on the REC complex is scheduled to begin next fall and will take about two years. The center will contain an events center for basketball, volleyball and concerts, a recreation facility and a 50-meter indoor swimming pool.}}</ref> The arena was initially proposed to have a seating capacity of 10,000 for concerts and 7,500 for basketball games.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Keene |first=Thomas G. |date=March 31, 1984 |title=The four plans to deliver a South Bay sports arena |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/841603962/ |work=[[Peninsula Times Tribune]] |pages=A–1, A–8 |language=en |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=San Jose State's board of trustees has approved... construction of a $14.2 million recreation and events center that would house a 7,500-seat basketball arena. The recreation and events center on campus would be capable of hosting concerts with up to 10,000 spectators... If there were any conflict, it would be in attracting well-known concert groups to the university's smaller facility... Even that concern will be moot if the recent student vote against funding the center holds up and San Jose State settles only for the stadium expansion.}}</ref> Construction began in October 1986.<ref name=":0" />
The arena held its grand opening in September 8, 1989 seating "6,000 for concerts and 5,000 for athletic events" that also contained an aerobics room, 10 racquetball courts, "a 4,000-square-foot weight room, health bar, and a larger-than-Olympic-sized pool that can hold almost one million gallons of water". The total construction cost to build the arena was $31 million (approximately $80.26 million by December 2025)<ref name=":1" />
In August 2019, the university reached an $8.1 million, 20-year deal with Provident Credit Union to rename the Event Center Arena to Provident Credit Union Event Center.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2019/sjsu-and-provident-credit-union-announce-partnership-agreement-for-event-center/|title=SJSU and Provident Credit Union Announce Partnership Agreement for Event Center {{!}} SJSU Newsroom|website=blogs.sjsu.edu|access-date=2019-10-15}}</ref>
== Athletic events ==
=== Basketball === The very first basketball game held in the arena was an [[exhibition game]] between upstart semi-professional basketball team [[San Jose Jammers]] and [[BC Budivelnyk|Stroitel (now BC Budivelnyk)]] of the [[USSR Premier Basketball League]] on November 9, 1989<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kiefer |first=David |date=November 9, 1989 |title=Jammers open with style in San Jose |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/841751031/ |pages=C–1, C–6 |language=en |publication-place=San Jose, California, U.S. |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> whereas the very first regular season college basketball game took place 14 days later when San Jose State played against [[South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball|South Alabama]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 25, 1989 |title=Building opens with loss |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/841870685/ |work=[[Peninsula Times Tribune]] |page=F-3 |language=en |publication-place=San Jose, California, U.S. |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
The [[Golden State Warriors]] used to host exhibition games against other [[NBA]] opponents in 1990 and 1992.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 13, 1990 |title=1990 Warriors Exhibition Season |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1226215375/ |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |location=San Francisco |page=D6 |language=en |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Krentzman |first=Jackie |date=October 31, 1992 |title=Houston lives up to tough-guy image |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/311747435/ |work=[[The Press Democrat]] |pages=C1, C3 |language=en |publication-place=San Jose, California, U.S. |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> During the [[2011 NBA lockout]], the Warriors hosted a charity game where its current ([[2011–12 Golden State Warriors season|2011–12]]) team played against the [[2006–07 Golden State Warriors season|2006–07]] team.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simmons |first=Rusty |date=November 6, 2011 |title=Warriors charity game unites players past present |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Warriors-charity-game-unites-players-past-present-2324047.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906025530/http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Warriors-charity-game-unites-players-past-present-2324047.php |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |work=[[SFGATE]] |language=en |no-pp=y}}</ref>
The arena was also home to the [[CIF Central Coast Section|Central Coast Section]] boys and girls basketball playoffs.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 14, 1990 |title=Around the Bay |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/462042168/ |work=[[San Francisco Examiner]] |location=San Francisco |page=B-5 |language=en |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=Mayor [Tom] McEnery was among the spectators two weeks ago when the Central Coast Section [(CCS)] staged its Division I and II finals at the new Recreation and Events Center at San Jose State... CCS commissioner Nancy Lazenby reports that negotiations have already begun to hold all CCS title games at the Rec and Events Center beginning next year, welcome news.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 2, 1990 |title=CCS playoffs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/461466226/ |work=[[San Francisco Examiner]] |location=San Francisco |page=D-8 |language=en |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
=== Gymnastics === In August 1990, the arena hosted a nationally-televised rematch between the [[United States women's national artistic gymnastics team|United States]] and [[Soviet Union women's national artistic gymnastics team|Soviet Union]] national men's and women's gymnastics teams.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Giesin |first=Dan |date=August 2, 1990 |title=U.S.-U.S.S.R. Gymnastics Rematch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1226385420/ |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |location=San Francisco |page=D5 |language=en |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 3, 1990 |title=U.S. gymnasts to meet Soviets in San Jose |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/779265105/ |work=[[Oakland Tribune]] |page=F-2 |language=en |publication-place=San Jose, California, U.S. |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
== Non-athletic events == Since its opening, the facility has played host to numerous national entertainment acts such as [[Rage Against the Machine]], [[Eric Clapton]], [[Jerry Garcia Band]], [[Prince (musician)|Prince]], [[George Lopez]], [[Drake (entertainer)|Drake]], [[Wiz Khalifa]], [[Kelly Clarkson]], [[Conan O'Brien]], [[Korn]], and [[Pearl Jam]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Concert History of Event Center Arena, SJSU San Jose, California, United States | Concert Archives |url=https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/event-center-arena-sjsu--2}}</ref>
Annually, the Event Center hosts the [[FIRST Robotics Competition]] Silicon Valley Regional. The San José State University Career Center also uses the arena to host its fall and spring career fairs, which generally feature hundreds of potential employers for students of the university.
In October 2010, the [[California Democratic Party]] hosted a rally that included [[Bill Clinton]], [[Jerry Brown]], and [[Gavin Newsom]] as the speakers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Noguchi |first=Sharon |date=October 17, 2010 |title=Bill Clinton touts Brown, Newsom in speech at San Jose State |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/10/17/bill-clinton-touts-brown-newsom-in-speech-at-san-jose-state/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501121123/https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/10/17/bill-clinton-touts-brown-newsom-in-speech-at-san-jose-state/ |archive-date=May 1, 2017 |work=[[The Mercury News]]}}</ref>
It also hosts the fall and spring convocation ceremonies for both the College of Engineering and the College of Business at San José State University.
==See also== * [[List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Provident Credit Union Event Center}} *[http://www.union.sjsu.edu/ec/ San Jose State University Event Center Official Site]
{{San Jose State Spartans men's basketball navbox}}{{San Jose State University}}{{San Jose State Spartans women's basketball navbox}} {{Mountain West Conference basketball venue navbox}}{{Santa Clara Valley attractions}}{{Authority control}}
[[Category:College basketball venues in California]] [[Category:Gymnastics venues in California]] [[Category:Sports venues in the San Francisco Bay Area]] [[Category:San Jose State Spartans basketball]] [[Category:Sports venues in San Jose, California]] [[Category:1989 establishments in California]] [[Category:Sports venues completed in 1989]] [[Category:Indoor arenas in California]]