Wednesday, the local news went bonkers over the announcement of a 12,000 seat, $300 million indoor football stadium that is totally coming to the Coachella Valley because sure it is ????. 12,000 seats might seem like a lot for a community that has a hard time selling out concerts, festivals, and sporting events at much smaller venues. That stadium size seems extremely large for the SoCal Coyotes – which is a thing that many of us heard about for the first time this week.
Via Desert Sun:
According to [Coyote’s founder J. David] Miller’s proposal, The Shield will be completed in 2021 and will feature a 12,000-seat air-conditioned indoor stadium, a 120-room hotel, medical and senior living facilities and also be the home to the SoCal Coyotes football team. In addition, discussions are in place to bring a pro soccer team to the facility.
First off, thank God they are planning on another hotel and more places for old people to live because the Coachella Valley doesn’t have nearly enough of those things already (maybe they can build an Applebee’s too!). Second, they really think that a non-NFL team (or even one XFL or the new Alliance of American Football) can draw 12,000 people?
If you think you might have heard about the Coyotes before, it may be because they made some news in September of last year when former USC and Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich made a brief comeback with the team at the age of 48. The story made national news.
With all the publicity and the chance to see Marinovich on the field, this was probably the best shot at the Coyotes, a developmental football team, to draw a large crowd. Based on the few shots of the crowd in the team’s highlight video, that didn’t happen.
The Sporting News recapped the game:
Raiders owner Mark Davis was among the 250-300 fans in attendance for Saturday’s Sharks-Coyotes game at Shadow Hills High School in Indio, Calif. Davis said seeing Marinovich in the SoCal’s white, silver, red and blue uniforms “made me think I was watching Tom Brady.”
The team apparently, played for some type of championship last year with a home game at Shadow Hills Stadium. Once again, the place was not exactly packed.
To be fair, the SoCal Coyotes refer to themselves an a “non-profit sports leadership organization” on their website, so maybe selling tickets and making a profit isn’t the point?
The SoCal Coyotes organization reshapes lives, homes and communities by Building Champions, Building Men™. It ‘Defends the Shield™’ through year-round ‘Faith, Family, Football™’ leadership programs, community service and sports initiatives that develop aspiring football athletes; educate, equip and inspire at-risk youth; nurture single fathers and father figures; extol the virtues of family values, positive fathering and family legacy; mentor young men into trusted corporate citizens with employment opportunities and sustainable incomes; and empower future generations throughout the Coachella Valley.
Well, that seems nice™. I’m just not sure that is what is going to bring 12,000 paying customers out to the stadium on a Sunday.
