Goldenvoice threatens to move Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals from Indio

[Courtney]

Cause Glastonbury looks like a terrible time?

To me it does, yes.

[Mugwog]

Coachella please make yourself more accommodating for Courtney. Clearly that is the proper business move.

[Courtney]

Clearly.

[zonarob]

we should keep in mind that this is a text message from a guy who was specifically trying to fuck with someone, and who mixed up the 2 polo clubs. Also, saying you CAN double attendance is not the same as saying you will. Right now, they are running pretty close to the legal capacity. If you knew you could theoretically sell an extra 75,000, it's not a gamble to get a new space big enough to add 10,000.

I am not so sure he mixed up the Polo clubs. Al Haagen is a shrewd businessman who is a well know pain in the ass when it comes to the negotiations for Coachella. Paul was very quick to say that he made a mistake about which club Skip meant. Why would GV's relationship with Eldorado be bad. Really all Eldorado does is lease GV land for camping. The Haagen's have the beautiful Empire Polo, the liquor license and all the infrastructure needed to make this thing work. Trust me Skip did not make a mistake about the polo club he was speaking about. Empire Polo is such an important part of what makes Coachella as special as it is. I would be very sad to see it move.

[nathanfairchild]

NO NorCal.

NO Orange County.

Double the attendance, more than double the festival footprint, no curfew/after hours activities, beers/booze where you want? Where do I sign up? Sounds like Glasto!

i don't know why you would want that. that isn't coachella. they already make a festival in america that can do all those things. it's called bonnaroo.

[gaypalmsprings]

Coachella please make yourself more accommodating for Courtney. Clearly that is the proper business move.

[SepaGroove]

I can't believe the festival might move out of Indio. I hope it doesn't happen, my friends and myself have had some of the best times of our lives on those fields. Imagine what will happen to that city if the festival moves. They won't even be able to afford to hold the tamale festival anymore.

But with that said I'm all for the festival being moved to a different location in the same area, but moving it to OC or elsewhere would ruin it for me. Also, I'm all for a 24 hour fest and no beer garden like Mugwog and others mentioned.

[Gribbz]

i don't know why you would want that. that isn't coachella. they already make a festival in america that can do all those things. it's called bonnaroo.

Glastonbury line-ups are infinitely better than Bonnaroos though. Personally, I would love late (all night) sets and the like. An increase in capacity wouldn't bother me if they also increased the size of the area, tents, etc. (which they would).

EDIT*
Also, didn't Tollett say at one point that he wants Coachella to become the American Glastonbury?

[Miroir Noir]

In a backwards kind of way, I actually like the rush of conflicts and the race to curfew every night. It leads to a certain excitement that makes Coachella the festival it is.

A new festival with more room, more attendees, a different setting, and a later curfew would be a very different festival. I'm not saying that's necessarily good or bad at this point, but it would be very different.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Yes, that's what I mean. Having to deal with 150,000 people pushing and shoving to get to the rail for a band like Rage Against the Machine sounds pretty much like the opposite of a good time to me.

Yup. 80,000 is already too much for me. I'm very much enjoying smaller festivals now, even if i have to go to Europe to enjoy them.

[captncrzy]

You guys should note that it says that the ticketing agent told Paul that he COULD HAVE sold 300,000 tickets. That doesn't mean he would.

[PulpOne]

[Courtney]

Yup. 80,000 is already too much for me. I'm very much enjoying smaller festivals now, even if i have to go to Europe to enjoy them.

Yes. I increasingly appreciate the value of more intimate festival experiences. It's a personal preference.

[Trick Loves The Kids]

still lolling at this quote from the text message exchanges:

PAIGE: You will be forever known as the guy who got rid CoachellaKids are awesome. This is not personal.

[untzcrate]

For those who don't support the move, think about this:

• How hard would it be to rebuild something similar to the Empire Polo Club on another piece of land? Somewhat hard? Maybe. Impossible? Of course not. Build it and they will come.

• Besides the potential of longer and later sets, what about less conflicts because they have more time to space these acts out? Did Modeselektor really need to play at the same time as Flo, DJ Shadow, and At The Drive-In on Sunday night? Of course not. You know we all would have been there for their 2:30 a.m. set. In fact, let me elaborate... DO WE REALLY NEED ANY MUSIC IN THE SAHARA BEFORE THE SUN GOES DOWN? Exactly.

• Do we need more space for tent camping, car camping, and potentially bringing back RV camping? Of course we do. Does the possibility of dividing out camping areas into quiet and loud camping sound appealing? What about an afterhours that goes on until the wee hours? You can't do that with the space we have right now.

• With a visionary like Paul at the helm, imagine what he could do with a blank canvas. Imagine the possibilities of AEG giving him the ability to create the ultimate music venue from scratch. I drool just thinking about it.

[Trick Loves The Kids]

Kids are awesome. This is not personal.

[CrimesceneCookie]

It has the ring of a new meme...

[psychic friend]

http://www.mydesert.com/article/2012...0102/207030310

[Miroir Noir]

Dani's final offer to Sam Torres was this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming licence, which she would appreciate if Mr. Torres put up personally.

[captncrzy]

For those who don't support the move, think about this:

• How hard would it be to rebuild something similar to the Empire Polo Club on another piece of land? Somewhat hard? Maybe. Impossible? Of course not. Build it and they will come.

• Besides the potential of longer and later sets, what about less conflicts because they have more time to space these acts out? Did Modeselektor really need to play at the same time as Flo, DJ Shadow, and At The Drive-In on Sunday night? Of course not. You know we all would have been there for their 2:30 a.m. set. In fact, let me elaborate... DO WE REALLY NEED ANY MUSIC IN THE SAHARA BEFORE THE SUN GOES DOWN? Exactly.

• Do we need more space for tent camping, car camping, and potentially bringing back RV camping? Of course we do. Does the possibility of dividing out camping areas into quiet and loud camping sound appealing? What about an afterhours that goes on until the wee hours? You can't do that with the space we have right now.

• With a visionary like Paul at the helm, imagine what he could do with a blank canvas. Imagine the possibilities of AEG giving him the ability to create the ultimate music venue from scratch. I drool just thinking about it.

*Not hard, really. If you think about it, it's just a really huge lot of grass.
*No
*Yes

Seriously, think about what they could do with an empty canvas that they own and develop. Properly structured parking lots and a proper in-and-out system for pedestrians. Permanent bathrooms. Permanent showers. A field dedicated to camping. An RV area. Manmade lakes. Cabins with a/c. Permanent lounges/buildings with a/c (like the cantina). Space that is actually DESIGNED for the ebbs and flows of a festival rather than cramming a festival into an area.

Indio — The petition for a new ticket tax in Indio is still alive, even as the promoters of Coachella and Stagecoach vow to move the popular music festivals elsewhere — and possibly out of the valley — if the measure makes the ballot.

But Councilman Sam Torres said he would no longer pursue the petition if he can join negotiations with Goldenvoice for a long-term deal to keep the festivals at the Empire Polo Club for years to come.

Torres, elected to the City Council in 2010, has come under fire recently as one of the tax proposal's chief proponents. It would impose a 5 percent to 10 percent tax on admissions starting in 2014 to entertainment events with more than 2,500 people.

Some 2,664 Indio registered voters are required to sign the ticket tax petition in order for it to qualify for the ballot.

“Paul's words have been ringing in my ears,” Torres said Monday, referring to Goldenvoice President Paul Tollett's threats Thursday to move the festival out of Indio over the proposal. “He's got a strong will. He can definitely make good on it.”

But Torres said he believed Tollett might also have been “positioning” and “posturing” to get a better deal. The councilman wants to join the city's latest ad hoc committee to negotiate with Goldenvoice and help work out a deal that better benefits Indio residents.

Mayor Glenn Miller has the sole power to appoint people to such a committee. The committee to negotiate Goldenvoice's present two-year deal with the city included Miller, City Manager Dan Martinez, the city attorney and the city's finance director.

The council won't discuss who should join until its next regular meeting on July 18, Miller said Monday.

The mayor said he would pick only those who are best qualified. Miller declined to address Torres' request to join as a condition to drop the petition because he had not spoken to Torres directly.

“I'm not against Mr. Torres being on it, but I'm not going to pre-pick anybody,” Miller said Monday.Miller also noted that there are other main backers of the petition besides Torres.

Two of those proponents, John Bingham and Al Meza, who paid the $200 application for the petition, said they would agree to drop the effort if Torres is selected for the committee.

“We're open to any reasonable consideration,” Bingham, a member of the Indio Citizens' Finance Advisory Commission, said Monday. “I think certainly what we're after is some kind of permanent payment from them. I think some tax is reasonable for all entertainment features.”

Bingham said he is not deterred by the threats to move the concerts.

Another main proponent of the tax, Pastor Carl McPeters of Kyriakos Christian Center in Indio, said Torres recruited him to lend his support.

“He contacted me and (shared) his intent to take it to the voters and his reasoning for the ticket tax,” said McPeters, one of three Indio residents whose name will appear on a legal notice requesting the ballot measure and intent to circulate the petition.

“I don't understand what all the uproar is over a ticket tax that will benefit the residents of Indio,” McPeters added. “From what I understand Goldenvoice has not committed to staying here anyway beyond next year.”

Last week, Torres provided The Desert Sun with a recent series of text messages he exchanged with Goldenvoice Vice President Skip Paige.

Paige's messages indicated Goldenvoice had decided it would move from Indio after signing its latest two-year deal in 2011. The messages also indicated that no negotiations had taken place yet for a long-term deal.

However, Tollett said last week that Goldenvoice hadn't decided to leave, and that it still wants to stay in Indio.

Tollett declined to weigh in Monday on Torres' conditions to drop the petition.

“It is not appropriate for us to dictate who the city chooses to represent them in any negotiations, they need to run the city the way they see fit,” he said in a statement Monday. “Throughout the years our communication and cooperation with the city has been one of the main reasons these shows are so successful. I would like to see that continue.”

"I don't see the big deal with the tax" is reason enough to move it. I'm betting the residents there (at least a great deal of them) don't get it either.

[captncrzy]

https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.6...11,-116.210833

Look at how underdeveloped the area is...and it's closer to the mountains.

[gaypalmsprings]

"But Councilman Sam Torres said he would no longer pursue the petition if he can join negotiations with Goldenvoice for a long-term deal to keep the festivals at the Empire Polo Club for years to come."

Sounds like extortion.

[ADGZ662]

Dani's final offer to Sam Torres was this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming licence, which she would appreciate if Mr. Torres put up personally.

Eat my tamales!

[TomAz]

Dani's final offer to Sam Torres was this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming licence, which she would appreciate if Mr. Torres put up personally.

ahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[TomAz]

I just learned English and if I'm not mistaken, Skip Paige comes off as the asshole here.

He sounds pissed off that he's having to deal with a retarded city council in a retarded town that won't let them make long range plans and wants (or, I guess, wanted, now) to tax them to death.

[gaypalmsprings]

I thought I'd repost this comment to the article, before it gets erased by The Desert Sun...

Steve Stoddard · Top Commenter · Works at Self Employed and Loving It!

that explains that loud popping i heard yesterday..
the sound of you pulling your head out of your ass..
try to keep it out, your brain could use the oxygen..

· Follow Post · 4 hours ago

[nyarlathotoats]

"But Councilman Sam Torres said he would no longer pursue the petition if he can join negotiations with Goldenvoice for a long-term deal to keep the festivals at the Empire Polo Club for years to come."

Sounds like extortion.

FTR, Sam Torres does not represent how most Native Americans conduct business.

[gaypalmsprings]

FTR, Sam Torres does not represent how most Native Americans conduct business.

I know. Just kidding with the picture. The local tribes are 100% supportive of their communities - especially the Agua Caliente & Cahuilla bands in Palm Springs. They give back to their community through very generous, voluntary support of the schools and other organizations and events. Sam Torres is very atypical, I agree.

[ADGZ662]

I know. Just kidding with the picture. The local tribes are 100% supportive of their communities - especially the Agua Caliente & Cahuilla bands in Palm Springs. They give back to their community through very generous, voluntary support of the schools and other organizations and events. Sam Torres is very atypical, I agree.

Sam Torres is Mexican, lets just pretend he's an Indian from the Torres-Martinez Cahuilla Indian tribe though. Shit, ima mexican lookin Indian too me thinks. Mexican equals Indian though as far as facial structure right? It was until the Europeans came and started shagging all the darkbrowns and Redskins and created hybrids que no?

Redskin blood is old me thinks que no

[Gribbz]

*Not hard, really. If you think about it, it's just a really huge lot of grass.
*No
*Yes

Seriously, think about what they could do with an empty canvas that they own and develop. Properly structured parking lots and a proper in-and-out system for pedestrians. Permanent bathrooms. Permanent showers. A field dedicated to camping. An RV area. Manmade lakes. Cabins with a/c. Permanent lounges/buildings with a/c (like the cantina). Space that is actually DESIGNED for the ebbs and flows of a festival rather than cramming a festival into an area.

I agree with all of this.

Dani's final offer to Sam Torres was this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming licence, which she would appreciate if Mr. Torres put up personally.

Hahahhaha. Nice.