Agua Caliente Tribe, Oak View Group Announce Palm Springs Arena Plans

– OVG Agua Live Nation

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has teamed with Oak View Group to build a privately financed arena on 16 acres of Agua Caliente land in downtown Palm Springs, Calif., with Live Nation on board to fill the venue’s calendar with artists and events.

The arena will feature more than 300,00 square feet and as many as 10,000 seats including suites and premium hospitality clubs. Groundbreaking and construction are scheduled for February. Wednesday’s announcement from the federally recognized Indian tribe and OVG – the global venue development, advisory and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries (as well as Pollstar’s parent company) – noted that construction is expected to create thousands of permanent and temporary jobs.

NHL Seattle and OVG have jointly submitted an application for the 32nd AHL Franchise expansion team, which would began playing in the Palm Springs arena in 2021. The arena will include an adjoining facility that would serve as a training center for the team, if approved, as well as a year-round community gathering space.

“With each venue, we’ve had the privilege of building and managing, Oak View Group has consistently continued to raise the industry standard, and the arena in Palm Springs will be no exception,” Tim Leiweke, CEO of Oak View Group, said in statement. “We look forward to working with Agua Caliente to build what we consider to be one of the most premiere music and professional sports arenas in the world.”

Tribal Chairman Jeff L. Grubbe added, “This is a unique partnership that will forever change the face of sports and entertainment in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. We are creating a healthy community gathering place for Coachella Valley families and visitors from around the world to celebrate, play and experience diverse entertainment opportunities in a state-of-the-art arena.”

OVG’s projects include financing and redeveloping Seattle’s KeyArena with a $900 million overhaul, which will be home to Seattle’s NHL team in 2021. Tim Leiweke is the brother of Tod Leiweke, the CEO and president of the Seattle NHL team.

The announcement about the Palm Springs arena follows news earlier in the month that OVG had signed a letter of intent with developer Risanamento and property and infrastructure group Lendlease to build and run an arena in the Santa Giulia area of Milan, Italy, which is part of Milan-Cortina’s bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. In the past few years OVG has also announced the development of Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., and the University of Texas in Austin.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has also been busy, with the ongoing construction of the Agua Caliente Cultural Center in downtown Palm Springs, including a museum and spa, opening in 2020. The tribe’s third casino, to be located in nearby Cathedral City, will break ground soon.