CHICAGO — Dead Heads proved to be a boon for Chicago in July, filling up hotels and bringing in revenue for the city.
Thousands of Grateful Dead fans flooded the city for the band's final performance in Chicago, a three-day series of concerts dubbed the Fare Thee Well tour at Soldier Field that ran July 3-5.
High demand for hotels over that weekend brought in an extra $431,000 in hotel tax revenue for Chicago, according to a city news release. Downtown hotel occupancy averaged 57.7 percent for the Fourth of July weekend the last five years, but average occupancy jumped to 77.7 percent for the weekend, according to the city.
"Large, high-profile events such as these historic concerts are critical to Chicago's continued economic growth and achieving Mayor Emanuel's aggressive goal of 55 million visitors annually by 2020," according to the city.
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