Empire Polo Club is a sprawling 1,000-acre former polo grounds in Indio, California, in the heart of the Coachella Valley. Founded in 1987 by entrepreneur Alex Haagen III, it grew into one of the largest polo clubs on the West Coast, with a dozen polo fields hosting international tournaments and matches through the 1990s and 2000s.
The property’s second life began almost by accident: in November 1993, Pearl Jam played to nearly 25,000 fans at the club while boycotting Ticketmaster-controlled venues, proving the grounds could handle a major concert crowd. That show helped inspire promoter Goldenvoice to launch the first Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival there in 1999. Coachella returned as an annual event, was joined by the country-music festival Stagecoach in 2007, and in 2021 Goldenvoice signed a 28-year lease for full operational control of the site, retiring the polo fields that November.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Indio, California (Coachella Valley)
- Type: Former polo grounds turned outdoor festival venue
- Opened: 1987 (as a polo club)
- Size: About 1,000 acres, including 12 former polo fields
- Capacity: About 125,000 attendees per day at Coachella
- Operator: Goldenvoice (AEG), under a 28-year lease since 2021
- Famous for: Coachella and Stagecoach festivals
From Polo Fields to Festival Grounds
For its first several years, Empire Polo Club functioned as intended: a working polo club with a dozen fields hosting matches and tournaments in the desert outside Palm Springs. That changed after Pearl Jam’s 1993 Ticketmaster-boycott concert showed the site could support tens of thousands of concertgoers, setting the stage for its transformation into one of the country’s best-known festival sites.
Goldenvoice staged the first Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival there in 1999. After a shaky start, the festival returned annually and grew steadily, eventually reaching a daily capacity of around 125,000 fans across two sold-out weekends each spring.
A Home for Coachella, Stagecoach, and More
In 2007, Goldenvoice added the Stagecoach country music festival the weekend after Coachella, which first sold out in 2012 with about 55,000 attendees. The grounds have also hosted one-off events like 2016’s Desert Trip, featuring the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and Bob Dylan.
The club’s traditional polo operations wound down as festival business grew; the polo fields closed in November 2021 after Goldenvoice secured a long-term lease for full operational control, cementing the property’s identity as a music destination rather than a sporting one.
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Empire Polo Club FAQs
Is Empire Polo Club still used for polo matches?
No. The polo fields were closed in November 2021 after Goldenvoice took full operational control of the grounds under a 28-year lease.
How many people can Empire Polo Club hold during Coachella?
The venue accommodates about 125,000 attendees per day during Coachella, spread across two sold-out weekends each spring.
What festivals are held at Empire Polo Club?
It hosts the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, running annually since 1999, and the Stagecoach country music festival, which began in 2007.
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Photo: Raph_PH / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.