Looks like Billboard (and I) may have jumped the gun about Lollapalooza rising from the ashes in Chicago’s Grant Park this summer:
Despite reports that began surfacing Wednesday announcing the event, Chicago Park District spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner said nothing has been confirmed
Negotiations are going on between the Parkways Foundation, a fundraising arm for park programs, and Capital Sports & Entertainment, a Texas management and marketing company that produces the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Still under discussion are the date, time, location, lineup and financial details of the proposed festival. Once those matters are resolved, a permit would have to be acquired for the event from the Park District.
“It’s premature to say this will happen,” Maxey-Faulkner said. “We do not have a timeline. But if it is to happen, I expect Parkways to come to us with a request pretty soon.”
But the city’s bumpy track record with rock concerts in Grant Park suggests that Lollapalooza is hardly a sure deal. After extensive negotiations, the city turned back efforts by Smashing Pumpkins in 1998 and Grateful Dead spinoffs the Other Ones in 2002 to stage shows on the lakefront, primarily because of concerns about security, overcrowding and excessive noise. (full story)
Also, to clarify a comment I made yesterday, Radiohead played at Hutchinson Field (which is within Grant Park) a few years ago and they figured out how to charge admission for that. However pretty much anyone could hang outside and still hear/see the whole show.