Jump to content

Empire Polo Club

Coordinates: 33°40′47″N 116°14′14″W / 33.679811°N 116.237256°W / 33.679811; -116.237256
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Empire Polo Club, hosting the Desert Trip music festival in October 2016

33°40′47″N 116°14′14″W / 33.679811°N 116.237256°W / 33.679811; -116.237256 The Empire Polo Club is a 1,000-acre (400 ha)[1] events venue in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, approximately 22 miles southeast of Palm Springs. It was founded in 1987 for use by polo players and hosted international polo tournaments. Since 1993, the grounds have been leased out for events, including the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Festival in April.

Location

[edit]

The club is located at 81-800 Avenue 51 within the city of Indio, in the Coachella Valley and Colorado Desert of Southern California.[2][3][4][5] It is around a half hour drive from Palm Springs and a 2 to 2-and-a-half hour drive from downtown Los Angeles or San Diego.[2][3]

History

[edit]

It was founded in 1987.[3][6] It has twelve polo grounds, making it one of the largest polo clubs on the West coast of the United States.[3][6]

It hosts local, national and international matches and tournaments.[4][6] In 2013, it hosted a match between the British Schools and Universities Polo Association (SUPA) and the USPA Intercollegiate/Interscholastic.[7] It has also hosted events for the Gay Polo League.[8] In 2015, it hosted the USPA Townsend International Challenge Cup.

The grounds are owned by Alex Haagen III.[9] Since 1993, the Empire Polo Club has leased its polo grounds annually to Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, the organizers of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Festival.[10][11][12] Goldenvoice signed a 28-year lease agreement in 2021 for full operational control of the Empire Polo Grounds amid plans to host more events.[13] The polo fields were closed in November 2021 and the staff were laid off on short notice.[14]

AEG began hosting a winter soccer tournament, named the Coachella Valley Invitational, in 2022. It is an annual preseason tournament for Major League Soccer and National Women's Soccer League teams that grew to 30,000 attendees by 2024.[15]

Other events

[edit]

On October 30, 31 and November 1, 2009 it hosted Phish's Festival 8. During the Halloween show that year, Phish performed The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street in its entirety.

On October 7–9 and 14–16, 2016, it hosted Desert Trip,[16] a music festival featuring legendary rock performers Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters and The Who.

On April 14 and 21, Beyoncé headlined the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Beyoncé was the first African American woman to headline the festival and her performance immediately received widespread critical acclaim. Many in the media described the show as "historic," while The New York Times proclaimed it as "meaningful, absorbing, forceful and radical." The performance was nicknamed "Beychella" by fans.

On October 6-8 2023 the Power Trip occurred, featured Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC,Judas Priest, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Tool.[17]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Spangler, Todd (March 31, 2015). "YouTube to Live-Stream Coachella Music Fest for Free for 5th Year Running". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Palm Springs, California: Empire Polo Club". Archived from the original on 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
  3. ^ a b c d Empire Polo Club Announces 2015 Winter Season Archived 2015-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, The Polo Magazine, 27 September 2014
  4. ^ a b Victoria Pelham, Polo season returns to Empire Polo Club field Archived 2021-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, The Desert Sun, January 4, 2015
  5. ^ Horace A. Laffaye, The Evolution of Polo, Jefferson, North Carolina: Farland & Co., 2009, p. 210
  6. ^ a b c Empire Polo Club: One of the largest polo clubs on the West Coast of USA Archived 2015-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, PoloLine, October 23, 2014
  7. ^ England to play USA for the Townsend Cup tomorrow Archived 2015-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Polo Times, January 11, 2013
  8. ^ Deborah Deutsch, Chip McKenney, Founder of the Gay Polo League, On How the League Was Born Archived 2015-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Equestrian Quarterly, November 14, 2013
  9. ^ Fessier, Bruce (April 9, 2015). "Coachella promoters working to improve festival". The Desert Sun. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  10. ^ Alex Reisner (2008–2012). "Empire Polo". Classic Rock Concerts. alex reisner. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  11. ^ Ray Waddell, Goldenvoice Buys 280 Acres of Land at Coachella Site Archived 2015-03-17 at the Wayback Machine, The Hollywood Reporter, March 27, 2003
  12. ^ Stars of indie, rock & pop take part in the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Telegraph
  13. ^ Blueskye, Brian (October 27, 2021). "Coachella promoter Goldenvoice inks deal with Empire Polo Club for full operational control of venue, opening door for more events". The Desert Sun. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  14. ^ Cutchin, James B. (November 2, 2021). "Empire Polo Club will no longer host polo, staff laid off". The Desert Sun. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  15. ^ Belson, Ken (February 23, 2024). "Spring Training at Coachella: Can M.L.S. Cash In on Its Preseason?". The New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Desert Trip website". Archived from the original on 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  17. ^ Grow, Kory (2023-03-30). "Power Trip Festival: Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Guns N' Roses to Shake Coachella Grounds". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
Retrieved from "http://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Empire_Polo_Club&oldid=1264940545"