The SaberCats came into existence in December 1994, when the Arena Football League awarded an expansion team to businesswoman Ramune Ambrozaitis, Lafayette attorney David Frey and John Fry of Fry's Electronics. The group of three owners got a bargain when they were awarded the franchise, paying only US$750,000 of the $1.25 million the AFL typically requested of an expansion team. The team played at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California, which is also home to the San Jose Sharks franchise of the National Hockey League. The SaberCats named Todd Shell, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, as the team's first head coach. 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 originally incarnation of the AFL.