Trademark applications hint at the possible name of new AHL team coming to Coachella Valley arena
Construction of the new Coachella Valley arena is well underway. You can already reserve seats for season tickets to watch the AHL team play. But what will that team be called? The team ownership hasn't yet announced that, but filings uncovered by News Channel 3 may provide some hints.
According to records with the United States Patent and Trademark Office found by News Channel 3, several names have been submitted for trademark by the company behind the arena development, the Oak View Group.
They are:
- Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Coachella Valley Dragons
- Coachella Valley Eagles
- Coachella Valley Falcons
The new team will be an affiliate of the Kraken, a Seattle-based NHL professional ice hockey team. At this time, there is no official confirmation on the branding of the team.
All of the applications are categorized as "entertainment in the nature of hockey games." These applications are awaiting examination by the department, according to the information posted online.
News Channel 3 has reached out to Oak View Group regarding the trademark applications. A spokesperson declined to comment for this report.
Previous applications with the names Palm Springs Sun, Palm Springs Eagles, Palm Springs Dragons, Palm Springs Falcons, Palm Springs Hawks, and Palm Springs Firebirds were also filed; they are now listed with the status "abandoned." The project was originally slated to be built near the Agua Caliente Casino in downtown Palm Springs on N. Calle Encilia and E. Amado Road. The development group and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians were in negotiations to build the arena, which would be capable of housing 10,000 guests. Last year, the developers announced the location change.
Officials broke ground on the $300 million, 11,000-seat arena in June. Construction is expected to be complete by October 2022. It is being built on 43 acres of unincorporated land in Thousand Palms just north of the I-10 freeway next to the Classic Club Golf Course.
The Coachella Valley Arena will be a state-of-the-art facility that will host concerts and entertainment events, as well as serve as the home of an AHL hockey team, the affiliate for the NHL's newest team, the Seattle Kraken.
"Part of the reason is the majority of our owners on the Seattle Kraken own homes in the Coachella Valley during the wintertime. So it's a huge point of destination back and forth, and easy to get our players back and forth," Tim Leiweke, CEO of Oak View Group, the arena's developer, told News Channel 3 earlier this year.
MORE: I-Team takes a look at who’s behind the new Coachella Valley Arena
The arena is privately funded and the owners are optimistic that it will host a variety of events for the Coachella Valley area. "Because if you think about it, is there a better place to come than the Coachella Valley during the wintertime?" Leiweke said.
