Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Sunday announced a new contract to keep Lollapalooza in Grant Park for another 10 years, reports The Chicago Tribune.
Lightfoot said the festival will continue to take place in Chicago through 2032, revealing the news ahead of J-Hope’s headlining act on the Bud Light Seltzer stage Sunday evening.
The contract will be in place for the 2023 festival, and festival organizer C3 Presents and the Chicago Park District will have the option to extend the contract under the same terms for five years. It was unclear Sunday whether the agreement will go before the Park District board.
Full contract details were not available Sunday, including mention of the city’s amusement tax, a final sticking point in the negotiations. Last week, C3 Presents executives were pressing the city for assurances that Chicago’s amusement tax would not rise higher during the course of a new agreement.
“There are now a total of eight Lollapaloozas on four continents, but Chicago remains the center of the Lollapalooza universe,” Charlie Walker, a partner at C3 Presents, said in a news release. “With the world’s best artists, amazing fans, and our incredible partners in the city of Chicago, we are excited to continue to deliver an unmatched festival experience in Grant Park for the next decade.”
The deal also set an attendance cap of 115,000 — up from 100,000 — and formalized the fest organizer’s $2.2 million commitment to Chicago Public Schools for arts education. C3 will also fold in money for renovations of Grant Park’s tennis courts, although there doesn’t appear to be an investment by the company to improve the infrastructure of Grant Park, as at least one alderman hoped.
The festival will continue to take place on the last weekend of July or the first weekend of August.
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