By Tracy Dietlin
Alex Haagen IV, along with his father, Alex Haagen the III, owns the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio. Most people know the Empire Polo Grounds as the place where the Coachella & Stagecoach Festivals take place, but there is so much more that goes on there. Just recently the 4th Annual Rhythm, Wine & Brews Festival was held there and was a huge success. They also host many corporate events there. “In the last 15 years we’ve had just about every Fortune 500 business do an event here. These events are what help keep the polo grounds green,” Haagen IV says with a smile. But most importantly to the Haagen’s, it is a place where the sport of polo is played in front of spectators.
The Polo season begins in November and runs through the end of March. Haagen IV and his father are real estate developers who love horses and polo. His family lived on a horse ranch in San Diego. “I was on my first horse with someone holding me when I was about 6 months old and actually riding my first horse at 3 years old,” Haagen IV proudly states.
They came to the Coachella Valley back in 1984 and his father bought some land. “He bought 5 acres and we put some nice stables on it. Originally it was just for us to be able to practice on but then one field turned into more and we opened it as a polo club for the first time in 1987. And we’ve been acquiring more and more land over the last 26 years. Our goal is to keep growing it and have the most beautiful club in the world. We’ve been told by a lot of other people that have traveled all over the world that it is. Of course, I can’t say that myself, because I’m a little jaded,” laughed Haagen IV.
You can tell that polo is in his blood. He loves talking about the sport. “It’s a very physical sport which some people may not realize, but you have eight 1500 pound horses running around on a field and you’re allowed to have physical contact. It’s fast and exciting. We want to expose more people to it.”
Haagen IV enjoys talking about music and The Date Shed almost as much as horses and polo. I asked him what made him decide to open The Date Shed, which has become one of the most popular music venues in the valley. “We’re real estate developers and even though we are in the music business with having the festivals here, we’re really not, because we don’t produce and run the festivals. I love music but I didn’t really know a lot about it from a business aspect. I’ve watched a lot transpire over the last 20 years in music and have many friends in the music business and I just wanted to give our community a real venue where locals could come and enjoy music.”
Haagen IV admits that the Coachella Valley market for music is much different from LA. “We keep experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t because it’s a very unique crowd in the desert. We want to have more large acts that people will want to come out and see because we are a little isolated out here…. but with the right bands we can sell the place out.”
“Our asset is that we are world renowned because of the Coachella Festival. So when we call people like BB King and ask them to play an event like RWB, it’s easier to get in the door because we’re on the property where Coachella takes place. We went through some growing pains figuring out our demographic especially in summer where people might not have as much disposable income. We had to figure out the needs and wants musically of the local community and try to bring that here.”
Haagen IV says that it’s important to take care of the bands. “One of the things that we’ve done well is being very attentive to the artists and their needs and even if it’s a slow night we want them to have the best experience possible here starting with the stage and sound. If somebody brings a tour bus in we make sure to bring chairs out and a fire pit for them to have a bonfire and if they want they can stay overnight here and look up at the beautiful desert sky, which is something that they can’t do in LA or in NY. We try to give them a little different experience and it’s paid off because we’ve had a lot of bands and tour managers say that it was a great experience and they definitely want to come back. And that’s what we want to hear.”
Haagen IV says that his favorite bands include: Led Zeppelin, The Who, Jack’s Mannequin and Johnny Cash. “I listen to everything. I’ll find a genre I like now and just hit Pandora and see what comes up. That’s one of my favorite parts of Coachella is discovering new bands.” So I asked him a few rapid fire questions.
All-time favorite album? “The Clash London Calling”
Favorite Song? “Kashmir”
Favorite Movie? “Pulp Fiction”
Favorite TV show? “Well, it was Breaking Bad. Just the way it was shot. It’s disturbing but you just can’t stop watching.”
Favorite vacation spot? “Hawaii, for sure.”
First Car? “It was one of those awful old station wagons with the wood on the side like the Brady Bunch.”
Favorite Charity? “Anything that has to do with cancer and helps in finding a cure.”
Haagen IV lives here a majority of time in season. “We have a corporate office in LA so I travel back and forth. My wife and I got married here and lived here for a good 12-15 years and my son was raised here.” When I asked what he likes most about the Coachella Valley he responded, “So many things. That’s why we’ve created our life here. I think it’s all the relationships that I’ve created here over the last 30 years.”
My conclusion from interviewing the infamous, mysterious and charming, Alex Haagen IV, is that he is an astute business man who loves his family, horses, polo, music and the CV.
