[4] During that season's Calder Cup playoffs, the Firebirds reached the Finals and lost in overtime of game seven to the Hershey Bears.

On June 26, it was reported the Seattle ownership group had chosen Palm Springs as the site for their AHL affiliate, as the Boise option would require the Steelheads' arena to be revamped.

[9] Delays associated with the construction of an arena in the Palm Springs area caused the team's debut to be pushed back to the 2022–23 season.

[10] In November 2021, the new team revealed its name, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, as well as its logos and colors, at a ceremony held on the construction site of their new arena.

[11] On June 21, 2022, Dan Bylsma, who had won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009,[12] was named the inaugural head coach of the Firebirds.

[16] During the first stretch of the season later that month, the Firebirds played their home games in the Seattle metropolitan area, playing four games against the Abbotsford Canucks and the Wranglers at the Kraken Community Iceplex and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, as well as the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.

[21] The Firebirds finished the 2022–23 season with 103 points, good for second place of the Pacific Division, behind only the Wranglers, who captured the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy.

[25] Eventually, the Firebirds won their first Pacific Division title, earning a bye in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs following a 3–1 win on April 10, 2024, over the Ontario Reign.

[30] After Palm Springs was chosen as the site of Seattle's AHL affiliate, Oak View Group (OVG) announced a partnership in June 2019 with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to build a 10,000-seat arena.

[3] The multi-purpose venue would be built on land owned by the Agua Caliente Band adjacent to the Spa Resort Casino and was estimated to cost $250 million.

[31][32] It would also have had an adjoining facility to serve as a year-round community gathering space as well as the training center for the AHL team.

[33] Groundbreaking and construction on the arena was expected to begin in February 2020, with completion by late 2021, but was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting ban on large gatherings including concerts and sporting events.

and Frances C. Berger Foundation announced they had chosen a new location for the arena in the middle of the Coachella Valley in unincorporated Thousand Palms, but it would not open until at least 2022.

[45] When the Firebirds began play, the News-Press & Gazette Company stations of KESQ-TV, KDFX-CD, and KCWQ-LD split a 10-game package.