Lollapalooza Promoters Pay $266K For Grant Park Damage

By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 13, 2014 7:30PM

Image credit: CBS Chicago

Repairs to the damage in Grant Park from Lollapalooza 2014 began Wednesday and the hardest hit areas of the park will be off limits for weeks.

Lower Hutchinson Field at the southeast corner of Balbo and Columbus took the brunt of the damage caused by the rains on the final day of the festival. There was also damage to Upper Hutchinson Field at the southwest corner of Balbo and Columbus, and at Butler Field east of Columbus Drive, between Monroe and Jackson Streets. A release from Lollapalooza promoters C3 Presents said Upper Hutchinson Field will get “first priority” because it needs to be ready for “upcoming events” including the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October.

Grant Park Conservancy executive director Bob O’Neill told DNAInfo Chicago most of the damage was to the turf, which is in line with in previous years. The total cost of the repairs, which will be paid for by C3 as part of their contract with the city to host the festival, is $266,000. That’s slightly higher than last year but a far cry from the $800,000 it cost to get Grant Park back in shape after heavy rains in 2011 left the park a giant mud pit.