Frank Jirik, who began his career managing Minnesota’s Met Center and later oversaw the design and construction of San Jose’s HP Pavilion, passed away.
Frank Jirik, who began his career managing Minnesota’s Met Center and later oversaw the design and construction of San Jose’s HP Pavilion, passed away after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He was 69.
Jirik was a student at the University of Minnesota when he began working on the grounds crew at Met Stadium. When the Met Center arena opened in 1967 as the home of the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars, Jirik was hired as a crew member. He eventually rose through the ranks and was vice president of marketing and general manager of the facility.
When the Gunds sold the North Stars and obtained the San Jose Sharks expansion franchise in 1990, they hired Jirik to manage construction and design of the HP Pavilion.
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