Acrisure Arena: The 10 memorable moments in the desert venue's inaugural year

Acrisure Arena turns 1 year old on Dec. 14, and the first 350-plus days certainly delivered on the promises made by Oak View Group as the desert's new entertainment venue captured the attention of sports fans and music fans alike.

We knew that the arena would be the home to an American Hockey League team called the Coachella Valley Firebirds but who could have guessed the kind of drama the Firebirds would bring? The Seattle Kraken affiliate made it all the way to the Calder Cup final, meaning Acrisure Arena was able to host 15 playoff games on top of the 32 regular season games and, of course, a Game 7 for the Calder Cup final.

And it wasn't just hockey. Sports fans were treated to the Lakers and Suns in a preseason NBA game, the Ducks and Coyotes in a preseason NHL game, and a regular-season college basketball clash between Arizona and Michigan State.

And on the nights when there were no sports, the arena was packed with music fans. Nostalgia acts like The Eagles, Peter Gabriel and Tears for Fears. Top pop artists like Harry Styles and Lizzo. Popular Latin acts like Peso Pluma and Grupo Firme all have graced the stage at Acrisure Arena.

Our sports and entertainment reporters have put their heads together and come up with the 10 most memorable and iconic moments of Acrisure Arena's first 365 days in chronological order.

More: Acrisure Arena: After banner first year, 50-60 major music and sports events expected a year

Dec. 14, 2022: Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle bring the laughs

The arena opened in December 2023 with a comedy show by Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. Both comics, who had been the subject of controversies throughout 2022, pulled no punches with the sold-out crowd, despite starting late due to traffic snarls preventing the arena from being filled up at the scheduled start time. One of the notable moments of Rock's performance came during a rant about what the comedian believes is wrong with America. Rock also discussed what happened when he presented the Best Documentary Feature award at the 2022 Oscars and was slapped mid-presentation by actor Will Smith, stating he was the victim and he asked the audience to compare Smith's role as Muhammad Ali in the 2001 biopic "Ali" to his role as Pookie in "New Jack City." He also brought up Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's 2022 appearance on "Red Table Talk" to discuss marital problems and Pinkett Smith's affair.

Attendees were required to place their phones and smartwatches in pouches before the show, and when Chappelle spotted a woman in the front row filming him with her phone, he became angry and demanded that she be thrown out. He told the fan as she was escorted out by several security team members that she violated his trust and that she could "kick rocks" in the parking lot while waiting for her friends who were allowed to remain at the show.

― Brian Blueskye

Dec. 18, 2022: Firebirds make spine-tingling home debut

After starting the season with 22 road games, the Coachella Valley Firebirds finally got to play a game in their new home, and it did not disappoint. Just before the puck dropped, the lights were turned off inside Acrisure Arena and all 10,087 fans lit up and waved their orange glow sticks. It was a goose bump-inducing sight and the first indicator that the valley was about to get behind its American Hockey League team. It was electric.

Cameron Hughes scored the first-ever Firebirds goal at Acrisure Arena; then goals by Jesper Froden, John Hayden and Tye Kartye gave the Firebirds a 4-1 lead and they held on for the 4-3 win over the Tucson Roadrunners. It was the first date of a season-long love affair between the Firebirds and the Acrisure Arena fans.

Of note: The traffic and parking horrors of the Dec. 14 debut comedy show were solved almost immediately and have never been a problem since.

― Shad Powers

Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2023: Happy birthday, Harry Styles

It's not every day that Harry Styles, one of the biggest names in pop music, strolls into Acrisure Arena. But when he does, his fans will make sure you know it, and hear it, loud and clear. Styles' two sold-out performances at the arena closed out the North American leg of his tour, and his fans donned sequin outfits, feather boas and bedazzled crowns. Even more fun to see in the crowd were all the signs people were holding up, which the performer took time to read out loud in the middle of his performance.

Styles sang all his biggest hits, like "Watermelon Sugar" and "As It Was," and even gave us a One Direction throwback. But what made the visit even more special is that the crooner celebrated his 29th birthday in the desert. His band members brought out a cake with candles for him to blow out on stage, and the whole arena erupted into a deafening rendition of "Happy Birthday." If his wish was to be surrounded by thousands of adoring fans in the Coachella Valley, I'd say it came true that night.

― Ema Sasic

May 15, 2023: Firebirds' electric triple-OT playoff win

The stage was set for a classic when the Calgary Wranglers visited Acrisure Arena for Game 3 of their best-of-5 playoff series. These teams had the two best records in the AHL and the series was tied 1-1. Playoff games don't get more pivotal, and this one was tense from the puck drop. The game started at 7 p.m. and didn't end until 11:55 p.m. almost five hours later.

Calgary took a 2-0 lead after one period. The Firebirds scored once in the second on a goal by Gustav Olofsson and another early in the third on a Max McCormick redirect. Firebirds goalie Joey Daccord kept Calgary scoreless after the first period and the game went to overtime. Unlike regular-season games, a playoff game continues until there is a winner. The first overtime Calgary outshot the Firebirds 19-3 but couldn't score. The second 20-minute overtime period no one came close to scoring as the teams looked tired. Midway through the third overtime, Ryker Evans sent Firebirds fans home happy. His slapshot got past AHL MVP goalie Dustin Wolf. The Firebirds won 3-2 in triple overtime and the fans that stayed for all 111 minutes of hockey had a memory to take home. The Firebirds went on to win the series in five games.

― Shad Powers

More: What a win! Five hours that Firebirds fans may never forget

May 31, 2023: Shania Twain performs in desert for first time in 5 years

When country star Shania Twain performed in May to a sold out crowd at the arena, it was her first concert in the area since she headlined the 2017 Stagecoach country music festival. The two-hour concert began when Twain was shown on the video screen sitting in disguise on the floor then getting into a mobile cart that traveled through the crowd to the stage as she sang “Waking Up Dreaming.” The visual production featured references to Southern California and a cityscape with a neon Palm Springs sign during songs such as “Up!” “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!”

The concert also included personal interactions with fans who Twain invited on stage to dance, sing a duet, or share a moment with Twain, including a woman who survived cancer.

― Brian Blueskye

June 21, 2023: Calder Cup Final Game 7

Agony. That's the only word to describe it. The inaugural Coachella Valley Firebirds season came all the way down to this: a Game 7 for all the marbles, the coveted Calder Cup, against the visiting Hershey Bears. The Firebirds jumped out to a 2-0 and Acrisure Arena was rocking. Are the Firebirds about to win the Calder Cup in their inaugural season? Hershey, the team with the most AHL titles, fought back and sent it to overtime at 2-2. Late in the first overtime, a loose puck was in front of Firebirds goalkeeper Joey Daccord and as both teams hacked and kicked at it, it trickled into the back of the net.

In an instant, a sellout Acrisure Arena fell silent. Hershey players were celebrating. Minutes later the Bears had the Calder Cup in their hands, skating around the Firebirds' rink holding it high. Coach Dan Bylsma said it took him two months before he could bring himself to watch the game. A chant of "Let's Go Firebirds" rang out from the adoring fans at Acrisure Arena after the initial shock and disappointment of the loss wore off. The Firebirds players raised their sticks in thanks before exiting the ice. One goal short of a miraculous first-year Calder Cup title.

― Shad Powers

July 8, 2023: Peso Pluma part of full Latin music slate

The decision-makers behind the concerts at Acrisure Arena have made one thing perfectly clear during the first year of its existence: The popularity of Latin music has not gone unnoticed and will be a major part of the present and future. That included a sold-out performance by Peso Pluma in July that had the arena jumping.

Peso Pluma, one of the most listened-to artists on Spotify in 2023, was just the cherry on top of a litany of Latin performers including Grupo Firme, Banda MS, Caifanes, Pepe Aguilar, to name a few.

― Shad Powers

Oct. 19, 2023: LeBron and K.D. Duel in the desert

From the moment this NBA exhibition game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns was announced, long-time desert residents rejoiced. Firebirds games are one thing, but to see the beloved Lakers in the desert? What a treat! The game was a sell-out as the arena was converted from hockey to basketball, and for an exhibition game, the fans got to see a show.

LeBron scored 19 points and Kevin Durant scored 21 minutes in the first NBA game pitting those two all-time greats since 2018. The Suns won the game 123-100, but it was a showcase for the Arena's ability to host a basketball game and Lakers coach Darvin Ham was impressed and hopes a Lakers exhibition game at Acrisure Arena becomes a yearly occurrence: “It’d be a great tradition to come out here and have a game leading into the season,” Ham said. “At some point, maybe it’s a regular season game.”

― Shad Powers

Nov. 1, 2023: KISS brings 'End of the Road' Tour

It’s hard to say for sure whether KISS is actually retiring after the “End of the Road” tour is finished, but the band known for face paint and outlandish costumes brought its over the top rock ‘n’ roll show in November to the arena. When the show began, frontman Paul Stanley, bassist Gene Simmons and guitarist Tommy Thayer each descended from octagon video panels hanging above the stage while pyrotechnics went off behind drummer Eric Singer's riser and flames shot up from various areas of the stage.

Most seats in the arena were full and the crowd almost drowned out the band's volume during the sing-a-long tune, "I Love It Loud," which ended with Simmons being handed a sword with a flame atop the handle and did his fire-breathing effect. During Thayer's guitar solo, he appeared to teleport from one side of the stage to the other following explosions with smoke, but it was still no match for Simmons' performance of "God Of Thunder" when he ascended up to the ceiling on one of the octagons after playing a bass solo as blood dripped out of his mouth, which will never get old no matter how long he's done it.

― Brian Blueskye

Nov. 23, 2023: Elite college hoops in the desert

In what was probably the most substantive sporting event to happen at Acrisure Arena so far regarding national interest, two top college basketball teams collided in a regular-season Thanksgiving Day game. With a crowd of more than 9,000 split almost 50-50 between the two teams, Arizona held on to edge Michigan State 74-68 in an entertaining game for the holiday crowd.

And it wasn't just the fans in the Arena that took notice. Acrisure Arena specifically and the desert in general were front and center in a lot of households around the United States as the game was the highest-rated regular-season college basketball game in 15 years. More than 5 million sets of eyeballs witnessed the inaugural Acrisure Classic. Year two is already planned and will include multiple games and more than two teams. USC and San Diego State are already committed to play in 2024.

― Shad Powers

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Acrisure Arena memorable moments: From Harry Styles to Firebirds to Peso Pluma