While it’s been widely reported that the planned downtown arena in Palm Springs will be home to a minor league hockey team once it opens, it now appears that won’t be the only sports-league tenant to call the building home.
The Desert Sun had a look at the preliminary planning documents for the 10,000-seat indoor arena and, hey now, they’re talking about bringing a basketball team to the Coachella Valley.
Details found in preliminary planning documents from The Mobility Group, an Oak View consultant, indicate the new arena could host an estimated 144 events a year, including:
39 hockey games
31 basketball games
39 concerts
11 family shows
24 other eventsWhile the June announcement of the project highlighted the hockey team and musical acts — as well as artists who could rehearse in the facility before heading out on larger arena tours — basketball games were not mentioned by the tribe in their initial news release. The NBA G League’s Agua Caliente Clippers, which are sponsored by the tribe, currently play a 24-game regular-season home schedule in Ontario.
Now sure, it’s not a definite that the team is moving from Ontario to Palm Springs, but, c’mon, it just makes sense to have the Agua Caliente Clippers play at the Agua Caliente Arena at some point in the near future.
For longtime desert residents, it’s wild to think that, in just a few years, Coachella Valley sports fans will have a chance to watch up to 70 hockey and basketball games in Palm Springs.
The arena is scheduled to open in 2021.
