In December 2022, ahead of Acrisure Arena’s opening, Oak View Group co-founder and former CEO Tim Leiweke told The Desert Sun that it would be a “world-class arena” hosting both the new Coachella Valley Firebirds hockey team and various live performances.
“It’s going to change everything down here,” he said.
The arena opened on Dec. 14, 2022, with a sold-out comedy show featuring Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. The following night, The Doobie Brothers performed the first concert, followed by the regional Mexican band Grupo Firme the night after. Maroon 5 closed out the year with a performance on New Year’s Eve.
So, as the arena heads toward its fourth birthday, did the new venue really “change everything?”
Nearly 4 years in, how is Acrisure Arena doing?
According to data provided by the venue, 361 events have taken place at the venue as of Aug. 8. Sixty-five of those events have sold out, and there have been 25 repeat events and artists including concerts by Peso Pluma, the Eagles and Maroon 5. The arena has also completed nearly 1.5 million individual food and beverage purchases.
Acrisure has hosted several high-profile events since 2022, including Harry Styles’ closing night of the North American leg of his Love on Tour (which doubled as his 29th birthday celebration) in 2023, The Who’s (self-professed) last concert ever in 2025, and, most recently, the inaugural Dancing with the Stars Con July 31-Aug 2.
“Everything that’s happened and occurred can be viewed as nothing but a success story,” said Acrisure Arena Senior Vice President John Page. “There were a lot of doubters and detractors, but because of the depth and breadth of the Oak View Group organization, the support of Irving Azoff, and for us to have a 11,000-seat venue that’s had the type of artists in it, it is certainly an accomplishment.”
Oak View Group President of Programming and Content Becky Colwell, who previously served in leadership and programming roles at the Intuit Dome and KIA Forum, described Acrisure Arena as a “complement” to the market in Los Angeles.
“There’s such a huge market and population out there in Palm Springs that’s hungry for entertainment too, and the artists can play both markets. Now that I’m with Oak View Group, I think taking a look at things coming to Los Angeles and thinking, ‘can they also go there?’ And vice versa,” Colwell said.
When the arena was announced in 2019, Leiweke said he planned to keep it “busy,” and when naming rights were announced in 2022, management said it would host more than 150 major events annually. Page recently updated the projections, with a more realistic outcome in mind. “We probably won’t be at 150 (major events per year), but we’ll be at 120 to 130 on a regular basis,” he said.
In April, the Los Angeles Lakers announced it was moving its NBA G League team to Acrisure Arena, with its first home game slated for this November (the full schedule has yet to be released). Both the venue’s staff and Lakers staff is optimistic about what the move could mean for both organizations.
“Moving the Lakers G League team to the Coachella Valley is an incredible opportunity for the organization,” said Los Angeles Lakers President of Business Operations Lon Rosen. “Acrisure Arena is the perfect modern venue that provides an incredible fan-first experience, while ensuring players have the premium facilities and space they need on game day.”
Acrisure Arena’s summer decrease part of ‘blue dot fever’
Anyone who pays attention to online concert discourse has likely heard of “blue dot fever.” As our sister paper The Tennessean described it, fans came up with the term — derived from the blue dots on Ticketmaster’s venue maps that represent unsold tickets — to make sense of the ongoing phenomenon of major artists such as Post Malone, Meghan Trainor, Kacey Musgraves and more canceling all or part of their massive tours.
So, how has Acrisure been impacted?
In the first few years after the venue opened, the demand for live events in the post-pandemic world increased, leading to a significant rise in ticket prices. According to Pollstar, average ticket prices climbed from $96.17 in 2019 to $135.92 in 2024, before experiencing a slight decrease to $132.62 in 2025.
The past two summers, there’s been a decrease in the number of concerts at the arena. Reviewing events scheduled from May to September, there were nine concerts in 2025 and eight in 2026, compared to 12 in 2024 and 15 in 2023. There were 15 concerts scheduled for 2026, compared to over 40 in 2023 and more than 20 in 2025.
In 2026, the term “blue dot fever” emerged to try to make sense of what appeared to be a new lack of interest in major tours. As USA TODAY reported, nearly a dozen musicians and bands either canceled or postponed their tours just five months into 2026, including artists ranging from Demi Lovato to Dolly Parton.
The Pussycat Dolls were scheduled to kick off their reunion tour in June at Acrisure Arena, but canceled all but one tour date amid the growing blue dot fever phenomenon. Additionally, though he did not cancel his show, Page confirmed that Weird Al Yankovic adjusted the seating map for his upcoming Sept. 13 show at Acrisure, reducing the venue’s capacity by 25%.
“Post-pandemic, there was so much demand for live entertainment,” Page said. “Whether it’s a hockey game, a basketball game, whatever it may be. So many artists were looking to get out (on tour). The ones that didn’t get out right away, they came out following that. There was so much touring that happened. From an economic perspective, I think that’s where we’re at … people are picking and choosing. People were going to everything, and now they’re being a little more selective about how they spend their dollars.”
Page noted that while not the case for Yankovic, some performers come to them early on with the desire to scale back seating.
“(Weird Al) felt based on where he was at in the touring cycle, and what his projected attendance was, that he wanted a little bit more of an intimate setting,“ he said. “But some artists … just want to do a three-quarter house right from the get-go. That’s an artist preference in some cases. It may be a ticket sales performance issue, but we’re able to accommodate whatever their needs and wishes be.”
What’s still working for Acrisure Arena
The Acrisure team noticed early on that one of their most devoted audiences was Latin music fans, and they’ve continued to lean into that market, even staging shows by some artists multiple times. Mexican corridos tumbados artist Peso Pluma has performed at the arena three times, while other repeat Latin acts include Ramon Ayala, Ana Gabriel, Marco Antonio Solis, Grupo Firme, Mana, Los Tigres Del Norte and more. Colwell said this trend is not exclusive to the Southwest or Acrisure Arena, but “across the board.”
“We’ve seen an increase in Latin touring and all the different artists that are emerging in that genre, and I can speak for Los Angeles, tons of concerts are in the Latin genre. There’s a community there that supports that genre. Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl … the Latin sphere has been amplified over recent years. We’re seeing it travel all over the country,” Colwell said.
As for other types of shows, what works partially depends on the time of year.
According to Page, the busiest time of the year for Acrisure fluctuates based on touring. He said the arena has had busier summers in previous years, but it’s typically busier during September through the first half of December.
“The touring piece really dies down (then),” he said. “A lot of acts get off the road in the middle of December through the middle of January, and then things pick back up. We see a little bit of a lag then, and we typically try to program more of our sporting events during that time period.”
April presents another opportunity for the arena during Indio’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach country music festival — but one major obstacle stands in its way. Its competitor, Goldenvoice, organizes both festivals, and Acrisure is subject to a proximity clause that prevents artists on the festival lineups from performing at the Palm Desert venue — and any other major Southern California venue — between December and May.
But that doesn’t mean artists can’t utilize Acrisure in other ways. Page said Coachella 2026 headliner Sabrina Carpenter rehearsed at the arena before her headlining performance. He added that the venue is trying to develop a relationship with Goldenvoice and its parent company, Anschutz Entertainment Group.
“If Coachella and Stagecoach are sold out, why not do a pop-up show if they’re already rehearsing with their setup? Let’s do something and everybody can make some additional money, but it is what it is, and we know what we’re dealing with. We try to do the very best we can to program around those dates,” Page said.
The arena’s proximity to Los Angeles and the limited scheduling at venues such as The Kia Forum and Crypto.com Arena has made Palm Desert’s 11,000-seat arena a popular place to kick off tours, causing big names like Cardi B, Kali Uchis and Paul McCartney to put Acrisure at the top of their tour schedule.
“As we look at our calendar, summer in particular, it’s a great way for them to start up.” Page said. “It’s easy for them to get in and out of here, and if they need to get to Los Angeles for business, recording, or whatever, this is a perfect place for them to start. It’s accessible, has a lot of great hotel rooms, and leisure environments for the artists as well. We scratched the surface on that, and we know it’s going to continue to get better, which will drive additional support to the local economy with these tours needing hotel rooms and dining experiences for the crew and staff as well.”
What does the future hold for Acrisure Arena?
Looking ahead, the fall months at Acrisure are set to be busy with a variety of events. Upcoming concerts include performances by The B-52s and Devo, as well as Los Tigres del Norte and the 90s Corridos Tour. Additionally, a 26-game college basketball series will take place Nov. 21-26, and on Dec. 19, Michigan State will play Gonzaga and San Diego State will play BYU. The new season for the Coachella Valley Firebirds will kick off in October, followed by the start of the Lakers G League in November.
When asked about scheduling events around the Firebirds and Lakers home games, Page described the addition of the Lakers as “very fluid” and said he hopes the schedule will be released at the end of August.
“Their season is more condensed, only 24 games. It’ll be very complimentary as we look to program both,” he said.
After nearly four years open, Colwell mentioned that popular family events held at the arena, such as Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live, have prompted her to explore additional opportunities for the market, including an immersive Harry Potter experience. Events that have previously taken place at the arena, such as WWE, Professional Bull Riding, and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, continue to perform well overall.
“We’re going to do a lot more of those types of special events … we’re having great conversations with the wrestling folks out there, and just different kinds of family and sporting events to add to the calendar,” Colwell said. ”I think it’s going to continue to grow, and it’s proven to be a wonderful venue.”
Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Is it ‘blue dot fever’? How Acrisure Arena fares amid volatile market
Reporting by Brian Blueskye, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brian Blueskye, Palm Springs Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
