Lolla sent Chicago Park District record revenue in ‘23

The Chicago Park District received its biggest haul yet last year from the organizers of Lollapalooza, who paid $9.6 million in fees to use Grant Park for the annual four-day music festival.

The boosted revenue for the Park District was mostly expected: This was the first year under a new contract that allowed festival organizers C3 Presents to sell tickets to 15,000 additional attendees per day. Headliners last year included Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey, Thirty Seconds to Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The contract also put in place a new revenue-sharing agreement that gave the city a sliding scale portion of total festival revenues. On top of ticket, food and beverage sales, for the first time, the city’s cut included merchandise sales, third-party licensing and streaming.

The 2023 total was a nearly $2 million bump from the second-highest annual take of $7.79 million in 2021.

The Park District received 5% of the first $30 million in festival revenues, 10% of revenue between $30 million and $50 million, and then ranges of 5% to 20% for revenue up to or above $85 million.

According to district documents the Tribune received through an open records request, those revenues topped out at over $85 million. Altogether, C3 paid a total venue fee of $9,632,475.

In a statement, Park District spokeswoman Michele Lemons said the new contract delivered a win-win: “The increased attendance threshold assisted in generating additional revenue that directly support parks and programs citywide and allowed even more people to attend the signature summer music festival in Grant Park.”

The permit fee payment doesn’t encompass what boosters say is Lollapalooza’s knock-on economic impact: extra work and tax revenue from attendees spending on lodging, food and drink, and visits to other entertainment venues for after-shows. A C3-commissioned economic impact report found the festival contributed $422 million to the local economy in 2023, a needed bump for area hotels and restaurants still recovering from the pandemic.

Last year’s contract renewal had detractors, who criticized the city’s behind-closed-doors dealings with C3.

Amid heightened scrutiny of private entities occupying public space for days or weeks at a time, some aldermen and parks advocates wanted more transparency over the process and assurances of park protections before the city was locked in for another decade. In response to criticism, the district instituted new rules that mandate public hearings before the district approves large-scale events.

Last summer saw other blockbuster downtown events: Soldier Field hosted Taylor Swift and Beyonce, and Chicago welcomed its first-ever NASCAR Chicago Street Race, which is returning this summer.

The NASCAR race netted $620,000 in permit fees to the city last year, which included a cut of food, beverage and merchandise sales. Shortened by a downpour, the race fell just short of projections on attendance and economic impact. It drew just over 79,000 attendees — below NASCAR’s 100,000 attendee projection — and just under $8.3 million in estimated state and local taxes, below the projected $8.9 million.

The city also bore the cost of things like overtime and road improvements for the race. NASCAR officials and Mayor Brandon Johnson agreed the city will be reimbursed for the cost of police, fire and emergency management staffing.

Lollapalooza already covers the city for those costs, as well as the cost of restoring Grant Park back to its original condition.

Last year, C3 co-founder Charlie Walker announced the company would also fund a $500,000 renovation of Grant Park’s tennis courts and addition of new pickleball courts where festival vehicles usually park. Those renovated courts opened in September.

According to a C3 spokesman, the company spent just shy of $400,000 on park restoration, including sod, mulch cleanup and irrigation.

NASCAR, Lollapalooza,and C3′s other local music festival, Sueños, occupied Chicago’s front lawn for 84 days last summer, according to a Block Club Chicago report.

aquig@chicagotribune.com