Organizers of the Lollapalooza music festival have received their largest bill in years to restore Chicago’s Grant Park after damages caused by last month’s event.
Media reports Lollapalooza received a $645,000 bill this year to clean up Grant Park. It’s the highest amount incurred by the festival since 2011 when promoter C3 Presents spent over $1 million to revive Grant Park. The four-day festival that year was battered by frequent storms.
The work to restore the park to its condition before this year’s festival includes re-sodding grooves where stages and sponsored tents were installed, and mulch installation. Other expenses include aeration, temporary irrigation and consistent watering of the grounds and replanting of shrubs that were removed for ease of access to the festival.
This year’s version benefited greatly from the near-perfect summer weather. Not a drop of rain fell on a festival that, in the past, has been a mudfest and has even been evacuated during thunderstorms. Heavy rains and big crowds badly damaged Grant Park during the 2011 festival. Necessary repairs included rehabbing the ballfields, laying new sod and replacing 200 damaged lilac bushes.
The Sun-Times contributed to this report.
