Indio, CA · Capacity: 125,000
Home of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Festival. The sprawling polo grounds in the Coachella Valley transform into the world's most famous music festival venue every April. Capacity of 125,000 per day across multiple stages, art installations, and VIP areas.
The Empire Polo Club in Indio transforms each April into Coachella, the festival that sets the calendar for music and style — two weekends of headliners, art installations and desert heat in the Coachella Valley east of Palm Springs.
Fans base themselves across the valley, from Palm Springs resorts to Indio rentals, with desert nightlife running alongside the festival.
Below are the Palm Springs and Coachella Valley stays, restaurants and bars fans use for the festival.
Hotels, bars, restaurants and things to do near Empire Polo Club in Indio — every pick web-researched and source-cited, closest to the venue first.
The iconic Palm Springs boutique hotel and unofficial Coachella headquarters, famous for its pool parties, DJ sets, and mid-century desert aesthetic. Just 20 minutes from Empire Polo Club, it's where artists, influencers, and festival fans converge for the ultimate Coachella weekend experience.
Morongo Casino Resort is the premier lodging destination for sports travelers visiting the Coachella Valley for Firebirds games, polo, or major concert events, offering full resort amenities in the scenic Banning Pass. The casino's entertainment complex keeps guests engaged during the hours between events, and shuttle services to Acrisure Arena are available for game nights. For sports weekenders wanting an all-inclusive desert resort experience, Morongo is the easy choice.
Full-service resort casino in Indio with a 2,000-seat special events center, multiple restaurants, and a spa. Coachella and Stagecoach festival attendees book rooms for its proximity to the Empire Polo Club, plus gaming and poolside relaxation between festival days.
The Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs goes all-in on music culture with memorabilia-lined hallways, a pool stage hosting live sets during Coachella and Stagecoach weekends, and room packages designed for festival fans. The shuttle service to Empire Polo Club makes it a premium festival base without camping — and the pool scene on Friday afternoon is a whole concert of its own.
Sprawling desert resort near Indio with seven pools, a full spa, and mountain-view rooms. A premium base camp for Coachella and Stagecoach festival-goers just 15 minutes from Empire Polo Club, offering celebrity-spotting at the pool and post-festival recovery in desert luxury.
Legendary desert resort since 1926 with casita-style rooms, championship golf courses, and a world-class spa nestled against the Santa Rosa Mountains. A luxurious festival base camp for Coachella VIPs and celebrity sightings during music festival season.
The desert's homegrown craft brewery in Thousand Palms near Indio, brewing festival-inspired beers like Coachella Golden Ale. The taproom is a popular warm-up and wind-down spot during Coachella and Stagecoach weekends, offering refreshing desert-brewed pints away from the festival crowds.
Beloved Palm Desert dive bar and live music venue that becomes a satellite party hub during Coachella and Stagecoach weekends. With a pool table, cheap drinks, and a laid-back desert vibe, it's where locals and festival fans mingle away from the corporate festival scene.
Rustic desert saloon near Joshua Tree serving cold beers and whiskey in a classic Western atmosphere with live music weekends. Coachella and Stagecoach festival fans make the pilgrimage to this iconic watering hole for an authentic desert bar experience between festival sets.
Coachella Valley craft brewery with a relaxed taproom and outdoor patio serving refreshing desert-inspired beers. A chill spot for festival fans to rehydrate and unwind between Coachella and Stagecoach sets.
Neil's Lounge is Indio's legendary no-frills dive bar where Coachella and Stagecoach festival-goers mingle with desert locals over cheap drinks and pool tables. It's become an unofficial after-hours institution during festival season, offering an authentic counterpoint to VIP tents.
Shield Brewing Company is the Coachella Valley's most celebrated craft brewery, producing small-batch ales and lagers designed to refresh in the desert heat while delivering full flavor to discerning sports fans. The taproom fills with Firebirds fans before and after home games, making it the de facto official pregame destination for Coachella Valley hockey culture. The outdoor patio and rotating seasonal taps make every visit feel fresh.
Family-owned Italian restaurant in the Coachella Valley serving hearty pasta, wood-fired pizzas, and homemade tiramisu. A welcome change of pace for Coachella and Stagecoach festivalgoers craving a proper sit-down meal.
No visit to the Coachella Valley is complete without a legendary date shake from Hadley Fruit Orchards near Indio, a desert tradition enjoyed by generations of fans who pass through on their way to concerts, hockey games, and spring training. The thick, sweet shakes made from locally grown Medjool dates are unlike any refreshment available at major sports venues. It is a humble but unforgettable taste of what makes the Indio area unique.
Legendary Indio Mexican cafe famous for massive caramel-dipped dates, breakfast burritos, and authentic Mexicali-style cuisine. A morning-after ritual for Coachella and Stagecoach festival-goers who need hearty, affordable fuel to recover from late nights at Empire Polo Club.
A casual New American spot serving scratch-made soups, salads and sandwiches built on local and organic produce. The greater Palm Springs tourism board flags it for festival-goers as a farm-fresh, vegetarian-friendly option within reach of the grounds.
Rio Azul is the beloved local secret for authentic Mexican seafood in the Coachella Valley — mariscos, ceviche tostadas, and whole fried fish that festivalgoers and music fans discover when they venture off the Empire Polo Club grounds. The unpretentious setting and massive portions make it the perfect fuel-up between Coachella or Stagecoach sets.
A 17-acre Indio date farm operating since 1924, with a café for alfresco dining and the Coachella Valley’s signature date shake. It is recommended specifically for Coachella attendees as a daytime, distinctly local stop near Indio.
The Empire Polo Club is one of the most iconic music festival sites on Earth, where Coachella's palm tree silhouettes, desert mountains, and ferris wheel have become the universal symbol of the modern music festival in the age of social media. Attending Coachella is a rite of passage for music fans worldwide, with the festival's reputation for surprise guests and transcendent performances making every year's edition a defining cultural moment. Even visiting the polo club outside festival season allows dedicated fans to stand in the fields where their favourite festival moments occurred.
The Empire Polo Club in Indio is hallowed ground for music festival fans worldwide as the permanent home of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of the most culturally significant and commercially dominant music events on the planet. Even outside festival season, visiting the polo grounds lets fans trace the geography of iconic performances by Beyoncé, Radiohead, and Prince against the backdrop of San Jacinto Mountain. The city of Indio's entire identity as a fan-travel destination flows from this iconic field.
The CV Link is a multi-modal outdoor path system running through the Coachella Valley communities that allows festival-going fans to experience the desert landscape and local communities in a way that shuttles and rideshares from festival grounds never permit. Cycling or walking sections of the trail between festival weekends provides a grounding experience in the actual desert environment that makes the festival's visual aesthetic comprehensible as more than mere branding. Local food and drink stops along the trail introduce fans to Coachella Valley life beyond the temporary festival universe.
The Coachella Valley is home to the American Express PGA Tour event and the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in nearby Indian Wells. Explore the region's legendary golf courses and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, one of the sport's premier venues.
Acrisure Arena in the Coachella Valley is one of the newest and most impressive arenas in minor professional sports, home to the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds and a vision for what desert hockey can look like. The modern facility hosts concerts, sporting events, and a passionate fan base that has fallen hard for hockey in the California desert. Firebirds games deliver NHL-quality amenities at minor-league prices in a spectacular desert setting.
The Empire Polo Club in Indio is famous as the venue for the Coachella Music Festival, but sports fans know it as the site of world-class professional polo matches played against a backdrop of the Santa Rosa Mountains. Sunday polo matches from January through April are one of the most elegant and unusual spectator sports experiences in California. The affordable general admission pricing and BYOC tailgate culture make it a perfect addition to a Coachella Valley sports weekend.
Empire Polo Club in Indio is tracked across 5 events and seats 125,000 fans. Here's how fans build a trip around it:
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Structured facts on this page (capacity, opening year, architect, ownership) are compiled from public reference databases and verified against venue coordinates.
Beyonce, Kendall Jenner, Leonardo DiCaprio, Adele, Bad Bunny, Kylie Jenner, Timothée Chalamet have been spotted at Empire Polo Club.
Empire Polo Club has a capacity of 125,000 people.
Empire Polo Club opened in 1987.
Coachella 2026, Stagecoach Country Music Festival 2026, Coachella 2027, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2025, Coachella 2024 — Lana Del Rey, Tyler the Creator, Doja Cat headline are among the events held at Empire Polo Club.