Muddy mess for Lollapalooza final day

August 5, 2012 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- It was another muddy mess in Grant Park for the final day of the Lollapalooza music festival after Saturday's heavy rains and thunderstorms turned many parts of the field to mud.

It was a scene that's very similar to last year that led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs to the ground.

The downside was Saturday's rain, the upside is that it left Sunday an incredibly gorgeous day.

For concert-goers, they have long forgotten Saturday's storms, but event organizers have not because they are going to have to pay for it.

After Saturday's downpour, thousands of people were evacuated from Lollapalooza. They were all allowed back in once the storm had passed.

Despite this year's drought, the field became a mud bath. It was a repeat of last year when Grant Park was destroyed. However, those who fought to preserve the park were not upset because Lollapalooza organizers pay for all of this and then some.

The event raises millions of dollars for the Chicago Park District. Grant Park Conservatory calls it a win-win, while concert-goers said they could not care less about a little dirt on the field.

"We also have transformed Grant Park with Lollapalooza funds," said Bob O'Neal of Grant Park Conservatory. "So we've had hundreds of trees and bushes, we've had gardens put in, so it's win-win situation. But we ask patience from the public."

"It still is a mess but you can see that they put in some more dry dirt on top of everything so it won't make a mess that much," said Abby Bernabe. "It's awesome, I'm ready for another day today."

Event organizers have a third party consultant that will be working with them to inspect the entire field. It will probably cost millions of dollars to repair, but it will not cost Chicago taxpayers a dime.

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local, sarah schulte

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