Chicago Thanks Diehard Deadheads For $431K In Taxes
By Jim Bochnowski in News on Jul 22, 2015 6:55PM
The Grateful Dead's final concert weekend in Chicago earlier this month was, unquestionably, an economic boon for the city, bringing in $431,000 in hotel tax revenue.
The concerts drew record crowds to the city, including thousands of out-of-town fans who had to find somewhere to sleep over the weekend.
In a press release, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the Deadheads helped to significantly boost hotel occupancy over the over the already busy 4th of July weekend. Downtown hotel occupancy is usually 57.7 percent over a typical 4th of July weekend, but this year occupancy was at 77.7 percent.
The City Hall statement touts high-profile events like these as a part of the mayor's "aggressive goal of 55 million visitors annually by 2020." That goal was repeatedly cited by the City Hall as it ramped up its "Epic" tourism campaign this year that suffered from recent budget cuts.
Since we couldn't toss a tie-dyed shirt in the air without hitting a diehard Deadhead in Chicago that weekend, we're glad to hear their visit paid off.