PALM SPRINGS, CA (CelebrityAccess) — Venue development and management consultancy Oak View Group partnered with Gannett’s Desert Sun newspaper to host an nformational webinar series to highlight the development of the Coachella Valley Arena, a new state-of-the-art, privately financed sports and entertainment arena near the City of Palm Desert.
The first online event will be a “Coachella Valley Arena Design Preview” featuring team members from the arena’s architectural designer Populus, including architect and principal with Populous and Whitney Williams, an associate with the firm. The first episode of the series kicks off on February 15 at 2:00 p.m. PST. The webinar series may be viewed at desertsun.com.
“There has been a lot of positive progress since we first announced the location of the arena with the Berger Foundation in September, and we thought a webinar series would be an informative and engaging way to share the latest updates with everyone,” said Tim Leiweke, CEO, Oak View Group. “Through this ongoing series, attendees will be among the first to see never-before-released designs, hear new ideas, and what the economic benefit will be for the surrounding community.”
The privately funded sports and entertainment arena, which is projected to open in late 2020, will have capacity for 11,000 fans, including modern suites and premium hospitality clubs. The arena will serve as home ice for the Seattle Kraken’s American Hockey League (AHL).
The series, which will be moderated by Desert Sun sports reporter Andrew John, will also include discussions with a number of business partners associated with the arena spanning construction, architecture and design, music, hockey, food and beverage concessions, parking, and more.
The webinar series is free and open to the public.
The first announced webinars in the series include:
Monday, February 15, 2:00 p.m. PST
Coachella Valley Arena Design Preview
Join Robert Norvell, architect and principal with Populous, the architect of record for the new arena. Robert and his team will provide an overview of the design of the new arena complete with both interior and exterior renderings.
Monday, February 22, 2:00 p.m. PST
Coachella Valley Arena Anchor Tenant Preview – AHL Palm Springs Hockey & Music Concerts
Join Nick Forro, president of AHL Palm Springs and others from NHL Seattle as they talk about their plans for bringing an American Hockey League franchise team in the Coachella Valley. Learn about their timeline for recruiting a team, how many games they will play annually, and which teams will compete with the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley team. Then, join John Bolton, senior vice president and general manager of the new Coachella Valley Arena as he discusses all things involving programming and content. Get up to speed on all the diverse entertainment offerings that will now be available in the greater Coachella Valley due to the new entertainment and sports venue.
Monday, March 1, 2:00 p.m. PST
Coachella Valley Arena Economic Impact Report Results
Join Josh Cohen from CAA/ICON as he presents the results of a recently commissioned report on the economic impact on the new arena. Learn about the impact during the construction phase as well as the on-going economic benefits once the arena opens.
