Events

Acrisure Arena officially opens doors

Featured image credit: Oak View Group

Acrisure Arena, a new 11,000-capacity venue in Palm Springs, California, officially opened yesterday (Wednesday) following a special ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The ceremony featured stakeholders including developer Oak View Group and naming-rights sponsor Acrisure, as well as representatives from the Coachella Valley Firebirds American Hockey League, which will call the arena home.

Acrisure Arena has opened as the Firebirds, which are owned and operated by the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, debut in the AHL this season. The arena is the first facility of its kind in the greater Palm Springs area.

The ribbon-cutting event also featured a guest appearance from The Doobie Brothers, who will play the first music concert at the arena tonight. The first official event at the arena took place last night with a sold-out comedy show headlined by Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle.

Ahead of its opening, Acrisure Arena announced sponsorship deals with William Grant & Sons, McDonald’s, El Cristiano Tequila, The Pratt Group Real Estate, Pritchard Sports & Entertainment Group, Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa at Indian Wells, The Shops on El Paseo, Shottenkirk Desert Lexus, Walter Clark Legal Group, Visual Edge IT/Image Source, Impossible Foods, American Medical Response, and Brandt Beef.

The food and beverage line-up at the arena will include Pronto Pizza, Big Chicken, Tanner’s Prime Burgers, Casa Escobar, Koko’s Bavarian, Cabana Bars, CV BBQ, Fisherman’s Market and Grill, Grab & Go’s, E&E Pels Lemonade, and KettleMitas Kettle Corn.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, OVG chairman and chief executive Tim Leiweke said: “This dream started five years ago and it’s very rewarding to finally share this building with the Valley community. Acrisure Arena represents Oak View Group’s sixth arena and I’d like to thank all of our partners for believing in our community, project, and vision, as well as our team for a job well done.”

Irving Azoff, co-founder of OVG, added: “For Tim and me, this just isn’t just another building because we’re proud residents of Coachella Valley, and this wouldn’t have happened had we not experienced life here in the Valley and what it all means to the community. Similar sized markets across the country simply don’t have opportunities like Palm Springs and we are proud to bring this state-of-the-art venue to fans in the Coachella Valley.”

The $300m (£245m/€282m) arena has been developed by OVG with project manager CAA/Icon, architect Populous, and construction contractor AECOM Hunt. Financial technology company Acrisure acquired naming rights to the arena in January as part of a 10-year deal with OVG.