Lollapalooza growing: 35 acres added for more concerts

Published May 12, 2010 at 4:18 p.m.
Lollapalooza is growing.

The annual summer rock concert held at Grant Park will be spread out over an extra 35 acres, increasing the venue's footprint to 115 acres, according to Chicago Park District officials who will discuss the new plans before the board today.

Audience capacity will increase from 75,000 to 95,000, said spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner. Stages will now be on both the east and west side of Columbus, Maxey-Faulkner said. Previously, concert action took place on only the east side.
"Now music will be played on both east and west side of Columbus," she said.

Tickets to the three-day festival, scheduled for Aug 6-8, are $215. The park district, which receives 10.25 percent of the proceeds, will donate the money to the Parkways Foundation, which has used the contribution to help build city playgrounds and soccer fields, as well as offer scholarships to the park district summer camps.

Lollapalooza was first held in Grant Park in 2005. For the last two years, 75,000 people have attended the festival. Organizers of the festival donate an autographed guitar to the park district every year. The guitars hang in a park district conference room.

-- Erika Slife

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