An estimated $26.1 million was injected into the Chicago area economy as a result of the inaugural Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Chicago, produced by Insomniac Events on May 24-26, 2013 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.
These findings were released today in an economic impact report by Beacon Economics, LLC, who compiled data collected from Insomniac and festival attendees who responded to a post-event survey.
The report separated spending results between local residents and those who traveled to the city for the event. Attendees were asked to report the amount spent on food and beverage, accommodations, transportation, retail, and additional entertainment.
Local residents were responsible for an economic impact of $4.3 million, while out-of-towners who traveled to Chicago were responsible for generating $10.7 million for the local economy. Insomniac themselves generated an impact of $11.1 million through their production of the event, including wages paid to those staffing the event.
State and local government tax revenue generated by EDC Chicago expenditures is estimated at $1.6 million, equivalent to the cost of salaries for 21 full-time teachers at Chicago Public Schools or 20 full-time police officer positions in the City of Chicago.
Attendance for the Memorial Day weekend festival is estimated at 65,000 over the three days, peaking at 24,000 attendees on Saturday. Of attendees surveyed, 73 percent said they planned to attend next year.
EDC Chicago 2013 was not without controversy, however.
Upset about noise levels and the late 4 a.m. end time, residents in surrounding communities filed complaints during the event and later voiced concerns with the Joliet city council.
In response, Insomniac has vowed to fix the sound problems and end the show earlier if allowed to return next year.
The Joliet city council earlier agreed they would wait for the results of the economic impact study before making a decision on whether to welcome EDC back to Joliet.
Chicago is one of six cities to host an Electric Daisy Carnival, joined by Orlando, New York, Puerto Rico, London, and Las Vegas. EDC Las Vegas is the largest and most elaborate of the list, attracting over 300,000 attendees over the three-day event each June.
VIEW: Full EDC Chicago Economic Impact Analysis (PDF)
