We’ve had our eyes on the ongoing renovations at Charter One Pavilion on Northerly Island in Chicago ever since it was announced Phish would play three shows at the venue on July 19 – 21. Back in March the Chicago Plan Commission approved work on the venue that would raise capacity and rotate the stage. The first concert set to take place at the renovated Charter One Pavilion was a Dispatch show this coming Saturday.
Due to recent storms that have led to floods in The Windy City, there have been delays to the renovation of Charter One Pavilion leading promoters to move Saturday’s Dispatch concert to UIC Pavilion. Here’s the official announcement from Dispatch’s Facebook Page…
Chicago…we’ve got good news and bad news.
Late last week, the Charter One Pavilion told us that their winter renovations wouldn’t be completed in time for this Saturday’s show. We were floored and upset because we were looking forward to spending an evening under the stars with over 7,000 of you. We spent all weekend trying to move the concert to another outdoor venue in the city like Millenium Park or Grant Park, but couldn’t get the permits.
This left us with two options:
1.) Postpone the show. Not only would this inconvenience everyone with long distance travel plans, Guster wouldn’t be able to join us for the new date.
2.) Move the concert indoors to the UIC Pavilion.
We debated the pros and cons for hours and decided that moving it indoors was the best option. With that said, Saturday’s concert in Chicago will now be happening at the UIC Pavilion.
If you’ve been to UIC and Charter One, you’re probably thinking, “Charter One is general admission, UIC has an open floor plus assigned seats and we all can’t fit on the floor.” You’re right, unfortunately the floor is going to be first come first serve, which means you’ll have to arrive early to get a floor wristband.
However, as a thank you to the early arrivers, we’re going to having a HUGE pre-concert tailgating party from 4:30-6PM. Brad, Chad, and Pete (along with some helpers) will be hanging out with everyone and cooking up mountains of dogs and burgers for the early arrivers. All of the food and drinks will be FREE. It’s gonna be the biggest Dispatch party Chicago’s ever seen.
The UIC Pavilion also has lower ticketing fees than the Charter One Pavilion so online purchasers will be receiving a $4 fee refund from Ticketmaster in the coming days.
Again, the show on Saturday in Chicago is STILL ON and the guys are gonna do everything possible to make it a night you won’t forget. They might even have a few surprises up their sleeves.
– Team Dispatch
DNAInfo Chicago has a full report on the postponement and has brought up some interesting points. A local businessowner warns that parking for Charter One events jumps to $49 for concerts, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re heading out there. Though, DNAInfo Chicago was unable to get the Parks Department to confirm that parking price. Also, music fans will be able to camp outside the boundaries of the venue until sunset, at which point they’ll be asked to leave. So you will be able to listen to the beginning of Charter One Pavilion concerts until about 8:30 or 9PM on show nights. Other than that, access to Northerly Island will be limited “to concert employees, audience members and boaters who need to access the harbor,” a Parks District Spokeswoman told DNAInfo Chicago.
There’s nearly two months until Phish takes the stage at the renovated venue, so we don’t think there’s any danger of the three shows being moved. That said, start saving for parking fees!
[via DNAInfo Chicago, Hat Tip – P. Swanton]
UPDATE: The article’s author, Lizzie Schiffman, has confirmed pricing for the venue via a Park District Rep. “Parking costs will range from $30 to $49 on show nights, Juaniza from the Park District said, and the Adler Planetarium lot will house the VIP parking area.” Bear in mind, if you’re one of the lucky ones to get there early enough to secure parking at the North Garage at Soldier Field, which isn’t on the island but is adjacent via a bridge or shuttle, you can park from free. Parking on Northerly Island will cost you.
We’ve received photos of the site taken a few days ago by HT reader Bryan Gronowski…
UPDATE 6/8 (4PM ET): HT reader ZachAtak shares these updated shots of Charter One Pavilion:
15 thoughts on “Chicago’s Charter One Pavilion Renovations Delayed”
$50 Parking? Whoah.
I sure hope they “propose” more speakers for the “proposed” new lawn! And now I have to stash away another $150 just to park!? I really hope they get their act together before July 19th.
Usually if you have a ticket to the show at Charter One, you can park for free in the garage
There is NO way you will be able to “move” 30,000 Phish phans. Pull it together and get this done!
You can always look for parking in parking garages in the loop, which are still kind of pricey but certainly not $50 bucks, or outlying neighborhoods and then taking a CTA mode to the venue. $50 bucks is outlandish, even for Chicago!
The high parking fee is for the lot directly outside the venue which is considered VIP. There is plenty of parking a short walk or shuttle away under Soldier Field and it is included with the ticket cost.
Hi Scott + readers! I’m the DNAinfo reporter who wrote this story. We just confirmed with the park district — event parking prices range from $30-$49. The post has been updated with additional information about parking. Thanks for sharing!
http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130530/south-loop/dispatch-concert-relocated-after-charter-one-construction-delayed
Thanks for all your work, Lizzie!
Found way cheap parking last trip to Chicago via spothero. Was $60 for three days in a downtown garage for those of you going to the city for the run. Use mass transit as much as you can.
I rode my bike to Northerly this morning.. tons of progress, but still a ways to go. Stage is almost done.. stands are almost done.. the GA floor is now paved. Id be a little concerned if i had tickets for the Jimmy Buffet show at the end of June, but should be fine for Phish. I snapped some pics… Let me know if you’d like them
I thought i saw parking was included in the purchase price of the phish ticket?
Parking at the North Garage at Soldier Field is included, but seems to fill out super quickly. If you want to park on the Island itself, that will run $30 – $49
Gonna take my bike out.
Where’s the like button? Or do I just it Lie?
we will adapt and overcome my friends there is no stopping us