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Plans For Northerly Island Concert Stage Revealed

By Sam Bakken in News on Mar 29, 2005 9:27PM

Via Chicago Park District
Yesterday, the Chicago Park District showed images of recommendations for the 8,000 seat concert venue they want to build on Northerly Island. According to the plans the theater only takes three days to set up and three days to take down—fulfilling a promise that it can be removed quickly at the end of each concert season.

While we are disappointed that Clear Channel won the promoting rights over local promoter Jam Productions (but CC does had to pay Jam $90 million for interfering with their efforts to promote motocross events in an unrelated caseSuckit Clear Channel!), the Sun-Times' description of what the concert experience could be like sounds pretty sweet:

The stage faces the lake, aiming the sound over the water. Concertgoers will get an eyeful of twinkling skyscrapers as a backdrop...

Via Chicago Park DistrictConstruction will probably begin in late April or early May and concerts could be held as early as June. The city granted Clear Channel a three-year contract with two-year extension options. The venue is expected to generate between $800,000 and $1 million. That money will be used to maintain the park and fund planning for a nature park on the island.

A number of groups say the city is rushing things. One group, Friend's of Meigs Field (their site is down, but will redirect you to a backup site), want future plans for the island to include both an airport and nature park. It seems to us that planes landing and taking off could ruin the whole nature mood.