Fans fill Acrisure Arena to watch KD LeBron play in the first NBA game at the stadium.

Palm Desert resident Arvin Windua named his son Kobe after former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant. So when it was announced that the Lakers would play a preseason game less than five miles from his home, Windois said the price of the tickets didn’t matter.

“We had to come,” Windua said. “I mean, are the Lakers in your backyard? How respected. It’s like a Lakers fan’s dream in the desert.”

Windua and his 8-year-old son were among the many Coachella Valley residents who attended Thursday night’s preseason game between the Lakers and Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena. The Suns won the preseason finale 123–100.

The arena was built last December and has since hosted major concerts and also served as the home arena for the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle opened the arena with comedy shows. Lizzo played here. I know Shania Twain, Bryan Adams, Sting and Peter Gabriel. Madonna is on the schedule.

Earlier this month, NHL stars played a preseason hockey game at the Palm Desert Arena.

But on Thursday, it was the NBA’s turn to return to the Coachella Valley for the first time since the Suns played preseason games outdoors at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for three straight years (2008-10).

Some of the big names in the house included LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker, and locals came out in droves.

“They should do this every year,” said Coachella’s Eric Gudina. “This arena is amazing and to have that kind of star power here is amazing. You don’t have to travel far to do this – it’s so cool.”

Arena officials said the NBA preseason game was sold out. Acrisure Arena has approximately 10,815 seats for basketball games.

Although the Lakers are technically the home team, the court located at the top of the rink was not painted in the Lakers’ purple and gold colors. Instead, the painted area of ​​the court was painted two different shades of blue, and the Spotlight 29 casino logos were painted on the baseline. The casino is a sponsor of the preseason game.

The words “Coolest Place in the Desert” were written in the center of the court.

Kickoff for the nationally televised game on NBATV was set for 7 p.m.

Since the game was two hours from Los Angeles and four hours from Phoenix, fans from both teams crowded the arena before kickoff. But Lakers fans were a clear majority.

“This is exactly what we need here in the valley,” Vindua said. “There are a lot of Lakers fans here, and they’ll find out about it tonight.”

Andrew John covers sports in the Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun and USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.