On November 22, 1994, the IHL announced an expansion franchise had been awarded to the Bay Area to begin play for the 1995–96 season at the
Cow Palace. The former president and chief executive officer of the
Jackson National Life Insurance Company Dave Pasant was the owner and paid the $6 million franchise fee to the IHL in becoming the league's 18th team. Spiders was selected over Seals, Quakes, Fog and Rush and at the time of its establishment was the lone professional sports team with the Spiders nickname.
Jean Perron served as both the general manager and head coach and was assisted by
Bruce Boudreau, until the latter was fired three games into the season due to a power struggle with Perron (Boudreau would later become a head coach in the NHL with the
Washington Capitals,
Anaheim Ducks,
Minnesota Wild and
Vancouver Canucks). The inaugural game was a 5–1 loss to the
Los Angeles Ice Dogs before 11,415 fans on September 29, 1995. For the one season, the Spiders roster took on a familiar look to the Cow Palace's previous hockey tenant, the
San Jose Sharks.
Dale Craigwell,
Link Gaetz,
Robin Bawa,
David Maley,
Ed Courtenay and
Mike Lalor all played for the IHL expansion team. The most notable NHL player who played briefly for the Spiders was
Sandis Ozolinsh. Ozolinsh, who was holding out for a new contract from the Sharks, played two games with the Spiders. He scored one goal, the first goal in team history, shortly before the NHL's
San Jose Sharks traded him to the
Colorado Avalanche. The team filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 1996 in citing losses of $6 million for the season, and would officially cease operations on June 24, 1996. The IHL itself folded in 2001. ==Season-by-season results==