“When we produce an event we want it to be a positive and memorable experience for the fans while also benefitting the communities that host our events,” said Pasquale Rotella, “To learn that our festival helped generate over $26 million for the local Joliet economy is really gratifying.”
The report, commissioned by Insomniac, determined festival attendees who were visiting from outside the Chicago area were responsible for generating $10.7 million for the local economy, while locals were responsible for $4.3 million in spending and Insomniac was responsible for contributing $11.1 million. Attendee spending benefitted multiple industries including $5.4 million spent on food and beverage, $1.4 million on accommodations, $1.3 million on transportation, $1.1 million in retail and $1 million in additional entertainment.
In total, the Memorial Day weekend celebration resulted in $26.1 million generated for the local economy including 279 full-time equivalent jobs and $10.9 million in income for labor workers in the Chicago area.
State and local governments also reaped $1.6 million in taxes as a result of the festival. Tax revenue generated from EDC Chicago is equivalent to roughly 21 full-time teacher positions at Chicago Public Schools or 20 full-time police officer positions in the City of Chicago.
EDC Chicago’s inaugural event welcomed 65,000 fans over the course of three days with more than 48% traveling from outside the Chicago area to attend the festival. The study found 68.1% of attendees headed to the event for the entire course of the weekend. More than 72% of participants surveyed said they plan on returning to the Electric Daisy Carnival in 2014, and 83.1% said they are highly likely to recommend EDC Chicago 2014 to others. [/quote]
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