San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats are a professional arena football team scheduled to resume play in the Arena Football League for 2011 . They began play as a 1995 expansion team . They played in the Western Division of the American Conference . Their final coach in the original Arena Football League was Darren Arbet , who will be a part of the ownership group for their 2011 return . All naming rights , trademarks , logos and likeness of the San Jose SaberCats are now owned by the new reemergence of the Arena Football League ( AFL ) ; formerly the Arena Football 1 ( AF1 ) . , making their 2011 return possible . History . Original AFL ( 1995 – 2008 ) . The SaberCats began play in 1995 . The team played at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose , California , which is also home to the San Jose Sharks franchise of the National Hockey League . The SaberCats competed in the Western Division of the American Conference . The SaberCats are one of Arena ' s premier organizations , having never drawn below 10 , 000 fans at any of their home games . The SaberCats were ArenaBowl champions in 2002 , 2004 , and 2007 , beating the Arizona Rattlers for their first two titles and the Columbus Destroyers for the third . The San Jose SaberCats did play in a fourth ArenaBowl , ArenaBowl XXII , but lost to the Philadelphia Soul . ArenaBowl XXII would be the last game played in the Arena Football League . On June 5 , 2004 , the SaberCats were fined $ 20 , 000 for violations during their Quarterfinal Round playoff game against the Tampa Bay Storm . They were first fined $ 10 , 000 for distributing cow bell s , without advance approval , to fans entering the building , which was cited as a violation by the AFL as an intentional competitive advantage generated by the creation of artificial noise . Also , during the game itself , the SaberCats refused to apply microphones to certain players and coaches during the NBC broadcast , which led to an additional $ 10 , 000 fine . The cowbells went on to become a mainstay of many perennial Season Ticket holders , even though the SaberCats never again distributed cowbells to fans after the incident in 2004 . San Jose was 9 - 7 in 2005 , earning the fourth seed in the American Conference playoffs . They lost to # 1 seed Colorado Crush 56 - 48 in the first round , after failing to score on six goal line opportunities in the final minute of play . The SaberCats went 10 - 6 in 2006 and won a division title in the process , along with the AC ' s # 2 seed . They got a Bye Week from the Wild Card Round and then beat the Arizona Rattlers in the Divisional Round 62 - 48 . Because the Colorado Crush ( the AC ' s # 1 seed ) lost in the Divisional Round to the Chicago Rush , they hosted the American Conference Championship game ; however , they lost the game 59 - 56 . In 2007 , they got revenge against the Rush in the American Conference championship and advanced to ArenaBowl XXI , where they beat the Columbus Destroyers in front of a sellout crowd in New Orleans Arena and claimed their third Arena Bowl title in six seasons . AFL collapse and revival ( 2009 – present ) . On August 4 , 2009 , the Arena Football League announced that it was " suspending operations indefinitely " but likely to fold . The SaberCats announced shortly afterward that they intend to field a team for 2010 , even if it means moving to a new indoor football league . When the formation of a new arena football league , Arena Football 1 ( renamed the new Arena Football League ) , was announced in 2009 , the SaberCats were not one of the initial 16 teams announced . Bossier - Shreveport Battle Wings owner Dan Newman mentioned that the SaberCats were one of at least two former AFL franchises with which negotiations were in progress , the other being the Tampa Bay Storm . However , when AF1 announced its schedule in January of 2010 , the SaberCats were not among the 15 teams listed . At the time , it was unclear whether they would join another league , or join the new AFL later . They would be replaced by the smaller and lesser - known San Jose Wolves of the AIFA as they contemplate their future . The Wolves do not play at HP Pavilion as the SaberCats have , rather at the Cow Palace in Daly City . On June 16 , it was officially announced that the SaberCats would be returning in 2011 as a member of the Arena Football League . The ownership will once again consist of major executives from national electronics chain Fry ' s Electronics ( John Fry , William Randy Fry , David Fry , and Kathryn J . Kolder ) , and in addition will contain former SaberCats coach Darren Arbet . On September 15 , 2010 , the SaberCats made it official that Darren Arbet was to be renamed head coach .