The mounting impacts of Stagecoach and Coachella cancellations on the local economy

It seems nowadays that major event cancellations have become normal as the country struggles to gain control of the pandemic. On Friday Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser issued an order cancelling the 2021 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach.

The festivals were scheduled to be held on April 2021.

Both festivals also did not happen last April and were postponed to October. When it became apparent that there was no real solution in fighting off coronavirus at the time, those dates were also canceled.

"With everything that’s going on we weren’t surprised at all," said L & G Desert Store co-owner, Richard Thomas.

The two major events are known to be major revenue boosters for the local economy.

"It hurts because we really need the money and if we’re going to be open, we lost a whole year of sales," said owner of Sloan's restaurant in Indio, Kelly Sloan.

Dr. Kaiser's order noted that the festivals draw in crowds from all over the world and that it is "intended to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19, thereby slowing the spread of COVID-19 in communities worldwide."

For local businesses, like Sloan's, a spike in sales is an understatement.

"The load of people that come in- they want it so fast and they want to be out of here by 2 so they can start going to the concert. One day we did 1,500 people in 6 hours. That’s the most we’ve ever done and it’s just chaos," said Sloan.

Sloan said crowds start showing up on Thursday and don't leave until Monday for a given festival weekend.

"If you were to take those 3 weekends and match those sales, it beats any month of either August, September or October."

About 5 minutes from the Empire Polo Club, where the festival is held, L & G Desert Store is also within the festival goer radius to stock up.

"They’re buying drinks, water, hats, bandannas, cigarettes, water, ice," said store co-owner, Richard Thomas. "We sell hot food- burritos, tamales, that’s always real popular."

The family store will not be seeing a big spike in business during April.

"A lot of times they’re waiting to get into the concert and it’s not quite open so this whole place is packed," said Thomas.

Though locals are what keeps the doors to both businesses open, festival weekends are a chance to cash in on some extra income.

"I wasn’t surprised, disappointed but not surprised," said Indio City Councilman Glenn Miller.

Miller understands the severity of the pandemic. He added that local shopping will be key to keep small businesses open.

"What we need to do is make sure that our local residents, and people who are traveling to our city and business are shopping locally, are supporting our businesses, are supporting our restaurants and continuing to make sure that they’re spending their money inside the community because that money goes back into our tax dollars," said Miller.

News Channel 3 reached out to Goldenvoice for comment but has not heard back.