Supervisor Manuel Perez, Hershey leaders make friendly wager over Calder Cup Finals
The Coachella Valley Firebirds and the Hershey Bears are set to play in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals Wednesday at Acrisure Arena.
It's winner-take-all for the championship. The game is sold out but you'll be able to watch it live on Fox 11, coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.
Check Out Our Firebirds Section for Complete Coverage
According to the AHL, Wednesday's game will be just the 12th Game 7 in Calder Cup Finals history and the first since 2018. The Firebirds will also be the first team in AHL history to play four winner-take-all games in a single postseason
While we all anxiously await for Wednesday's big game, Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez and the Commissioners from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania have a friendly competition.
The representatives have offered to send each other the finest Coachella Valley-grown grapes and dates and Hershey’s chocolate products that the area is renowned for. The leaders have been going back and forth with wagers on social media all series long.
In addition, the team that wins the Calder Cup on Wednesday will have a day proclaimed in their honor by each jurisdiction, the officials announced on social media.
Perez said he is extremely proud of the success of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, who have gone the stretch to the pinnacle of the season of any sport, in only their first year.
“What an amazing season by the Coachella Valley Firebirds!” said Supervisor Perez. “I am really proud of all the players, the fans who have supported our team and have achieved attendance records for the league as a whole, and all those behind the vision of bringing professional hockey and a state-of-the-art Arena to our backyard, the heart of the desert, unincorporated Thousand Palms. With that, Let’s Go Firebirds, let’s win this at home!”
Perez represents District 4, which covers the Coachella Valley. Perez was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony for Acrisure Arena, the home of the Firebirds.
According to Perez's office, a representative of Acrisure Arena shared that the arena has had over 325,000 fans through its doors as of April.
The Firebirds broke the American Hockey League's record for highest attendance in playoff history. The team blazed their way to 117,879 fans across 13 home games.
According to a tourism impact study, on an annual basis, the Arena is projected to generate $108 million in direct visitor spending, $141 million in total business sales, and a total of $11 million in state and local tax revenues, as well as 1,572 jobs.
“We’re enormously proud of the success Acrisure Arena and the Firebirds have experienced since opening a little more than six months ago, and to finally be able to bring major entertainment, and sports offerings to the valley,” said John Page, senior vice president of Acrisure Arena, CV Firebirds. “Supervisor Perez understood very early on the positive impact this project would have across the community and we couldn’t be more proud of what we have achieved together and watch still to come.”
The Firebirds will look to cap off a dream inaugural season with a Calder Cup Championship.
The Firebirds had their backs against the wall in Game 6. Down 3-2 in the series and facing elimination, the Firebirds defended their home ice with a big 5-2 win over the Hershey Bears on Monday.
Both teams have won all of their home game, which has only ever happened in eight series in Calder Cup Playoffs history!
Watch News Channel 3 on Wednesday for complete coverage of Game 7 live from Acrisure Arena. News Channel 3's Blake Arthur and Bailey Arredondo will have highlights and post-game reaction at 10:00 p.m. on Fox 11 and 11:00 p.m. on News Channel 3.
