Grant Park cleanup after muddy Lollapalooza could take weeks, Chicago officials say
Grant Park is largely unrecognizable in the days after Lollapalooza, with crews working to break down stages and reopen roads following a muddy, storm-affected weekend festival.
The city of Chicago says it will take about a week and a half to fully tear down the festival footprint before city crews can conduct their own inspection — a process that will add more time before the park returns to normal.
C3 Presents, the company that promotes Lollapalooza, is responsible for the cost of cleanup, according to the city. Over the years, repair costs for the fields have ranged from $260,000 to more than $1 million. CBS News Chicago reached out to C3 Presents for an estimated cost for this year's cleanup but had not received a response as of publication.
Weekend storms left much of the festival grounds covered in mud. Oliwia Tokarzewska, who traveled from Poland for her first trip to the United States and her first Lollapalooza, captured the conditions on video.
"I was going left on the side of the barricade and it was very muddy," she said.
Despite losing a shirt she'd bought from the merchandise tent in the chaos, Tokarzewska said the experience was worth it.
"I think it was all worth it, even though I lost my merch. It was amazing. Tate McRae was amazing," she said.
Tokarzewska was among several festivalgoers who stopped by the Hilton Chicago, where lost and found items are being held. Lollapalooza's website shows 318 items have been returned so far.
Shelly Sherrod thought her bag was gone for good until she remembered she had a tracker on her keys.
"Next morning I realized, wait, I have a tracker on my keys. I see it's still there. I'm like... then here I come today. I see the location at the Hilton. I'm like, wait, let me go over there. And lo and behold, I got my bag back — all my stuff in it," Sherrod said.
The city also released figures on public safety during the four-day festival. Ten people were arrested and 67 were transported to local hospitals. By comparison, last year's festival saw 12 arrests and 42 transports.
