Coachella and its debt history

Financial risk has played a role in the Coachella Festival. (And according to one account, the first year of the Stagecoach Festival, the country music version that is being held this weekend in the same location, will also start its history with a loss.)

Alexander Haagen III - Coachella - Music - New York Times, 5/1/07: "[Owner of the Empire Polo Club, Alexander Haagen's] first encounter with accommodating a big rock concert was in 1993, when Goldenvoice helped arrange a performance on the polo grounds by Pearl Jam. Six years later, Mr. Tollett sought out Mr. Haagen again when he needed a locale for Coachella. But the first festival posted a loss, forcing Goldenvoice to the edge of financial ruin.

AEG Live, a bigger concert promoter, acquired the company in 2001 by absorbing its debt, which exceeded $1 million, according to executives involved in the deal. Goldenvoice had been unable to mount a festival in 2000, but returned to the polo fields with Coachella in 2001 and has every year since.

... the Haagens ultimately made their reputation by building retail shopping centers in the inner city.

By the late 1990s, though, the company was laden with debt. An affiliate of the investment bank Lazard agreed to purchase a stake in the Haagens’ company for $235 million in 1997, and then bought the family out."

Here's more background. The Billboard Q&A: Paul Tollett

This article says that the first Coachelle in 1999 lost $800,000, and was still losing money after AEG bought it in 2001. This year, 2007, was the first year the event sold out far in advance.

It also mentions how the Stagecoach Festival came about:

"I had seen a small country show at Empire Polo Field in the '90s. It seemed like a fun local event. There were rumors last year that the polo fields were going to be sold, so I talked to the owners and said, 'If I commit to two big festivals, will that be enough incentive for you to not develop for now?' They said, 'Yes,' so we developed the country idea."