If Gov. J.B. Pritzker's proposed summer event cancellations go forward, it could be devastating to the Chicagoland during an already financially-devastating crisis.According to multiple reports, Pritzker intends ban all summer sporting events, including Cubs games at Wrigley Field for the 2020 season. That could mean a loss of $789 million in spending in Chicago and throughout Illinois.
The last time Major League baseball cancelled games occurred in 1994 when a player strike ended the season and post-season. IF the season is cancelled, that may translate to millions fewer visitors to Chicago and Wrigley Field, the state’s third most popular tourist attraction.
On April 9, the governor suggested that summer events be cancelled as part of efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak that has claimed the lives of 1,349 Illinois residents, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. At the time of this article, there have been 31,508 positive test results, out of 148,358 tests performed.
The NBA has cancelled the 2020 season, which means that the Chicago Bulls won’t play in the United Center this year.
Multiple events were cancelled starting in early March, such as the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb from March 6-8, the Big 10 Men’s Basketball Tournament, St. Patrick’s Day parades and more. Urban Matter reports that the Chicago Open Air Festival, which was scheduled for May 18 and 19 has been cancelled; and the Chicago Roboto 2020 event has been pushed to September 28-29.
Organizers of the Chicago Roboto 2020 event wrote on their website that attendees are welcome to roll their tickets forward to the new date or receive a full refund.
“This wasn’t a decision we came to lightly (A fair number of people have already invested their time and money in coming to Chicago next month)," their website says. "While watching other events cancel/postpone and companies begin restricting travel and conference participation we had to make a decision. At the end of the day, it came down to, we’d hate to get to the end of this and have been a part of making things worse and putting people at risk, instead of being a part of making things better.”
The annual Taste of Randolph Street festival in Chicago’s West Loop will not take place from June 19-21. Organizers instead cancelled in order to offer protection for the neighborhood and city as the COVID-19 crisis continues. Organizers made this announcement on April 15.
“As we continue to receive updates and guidance from all levels of government, it is with great sadness and the utmost responsibility that we have decided to cancel this year's Taste of Randolph Street festival. Event producer StarEvents will be refunding all vendor application fees,” wrote the West Loop Community Organization on its website.
Lollapalooza, which is scheduled to come to Grant Park July 30- Aug. 2, 2020, has not yet released the event’s lineup. That information is usually announced in late March, but the festival is currently in limbo.
Gov. Pritzker has not yet ordered events to be cancelled, but has publicly suggested doing so within the last two week.
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