Sports Arena in Palm Springs Cancelled, Relocating to 43 acre site between I-10 and Classic Club

Oak View Group is now planning to build the 10,000-seat arena in unincorporated Riverside County, north of I-10 and Palm Desert.

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — Plans to build a downtown Palm Springs sports and entertainment arena have been cancelled but a new plan to build an arena in the Coachella Valley with a different partner, was announced today.

The 300,000-square-foot arena, which will house the top minor league affiliate of the Seattle Kraken NHL team, will be constructed on a roughly 43-acre site between Interstate 10 and the Classic Club golf course.

Oak View Group is now planning to build the 10,000-seat arena in unincorporated Riverside County, north of Palm Desert. The project site is currently owned by the Palm Desert-based H.N. & Frances C. Berger Foundation, a local nonprofit which intends to lease the land to the company.

Oak View Group CEO and co-founder Tim Leiweke told the Desert Sun that the company’s partnership with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians “ultimately unwound.”

Parking and traffic that a 10,000 seat Sports Arena in the downtown Palm Springs area would bring was always a major concern.

“We appreciate the ongoing support and encouragement from the community and are very pleased to be partnering with the Berger Foundation who share our vision for creating a world-class venue for the Coachella Valley and what will be one of the most premier music and professional sports arenas in the world.”

Construction on the ‘New Sports Arena’ is expected to begin sometime next year and be completed toward the end of 2022, the company said.

With the closure of Desert Ice Castle in Cathedral City in March, 2020, the Coachella Valley was left without a skating rink. The new arena is expected to fill the niche left behind in the figure skating, recreational skating and adult and youth hockey sectors. The team is expected to work with Live Nation Entertainment to bring live events including concerts to the venue as well.

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