They can use Union Park if they downsize (which I think they should). Adams/Medill won’t happen for the same reasons as Douglass Park. Jackson Park is off limits for this. They’ll never do it because of the history of the park. Soldier Field is a possibility when the Bears move, especially if they move Huntington Bank Pavilion to south of the stadium. Comiskey is a better option for a parking lot fest than United Center. Sox were even out of town this weekend.
Idiots on Reddit (I know, I know) already bitch about Lollapalooza happening in Grant Park because “I choose to live in the loop so I should have access to Grant Park whenever I want.” (Not the same as residents wanting access to Douglass Park) So you’d see a lot more of that if Riot ever moved there I’m sure.
A move to Tinley Park is also a deathwish. The only transportation there is the Metra and the Reggies bus or driving. If it moves there I can guarantee attendance will drop drastically. I know Warped Tour was there for many years, but that was a one day event type of thing, not a three day festival where people come from all over and many do not use cars to get around.
Tinley tho does have hotels and shit right by tweeter and are in walking distance I know it’s not a actually going to move to tinley it was just a thought
Wherever it moves, I'm sure the wife and I will still make the trip. From what I'm gathering in this thread though, there's not really many options that cater to Riot's current size and accessibility.
If rage continues to tour I think they end up in lolla. If there is a riot fest next year and after the shit show that happened during mcr rage would be twice as bad. I don’t think riot could handle rage the way lolla could
I think there’s an argument to be made that the festival needs to downsize. Five stages is a lot for logistics and booking. Go down to four or even three and it becomes easier. Pitchfork does well with only three stages.
My group was saying on Friday that MCR will never play RF again after what happened. I’m almost confident of it. Lolla handles their shit with large crowds - big screens so you can still see, so much room for everyone.
I've always wondered why the Comiskey grounds have never been used for a festival. The red line being right there plus all the additional opportunities for parking revenue using the lots north/northwest of the stadium seem like a no brainer. You could fit five stages using just two of the lots without even having to go into the park itself.
if it leaves the city, I know personally id never go again save for like a reunited REM (which i know wont happen). Agree that it would be a death sentence going to Tinley and the like.
The park itself is going to largely be off limits. Groundskeeper doesn’t like having concerts on the field, which sucks because it’s obviously a revenue generator. The lots, like you said, would be perfect for holding something. I don’t know why they don’t.
I'm sure there are plenty of ways to poke holes in this, but every time I ride my bike through the Montrose Harbor area of the lake trail I think it'd be a cool spot for the fest, even if they'd have to scale down a bit. I think it'd be less invasive to locals than Douglas/Humboldt and relatively easy for people to get to via the Red Line/buses and being right off LSD.
Some ideas- 1) what if they scaled it down, used a smaller space like Montrose, Union park, or Northerly Island on Saturday or Sunday, and make Friday just club shows throughout the city like how the fest originally started? 2) what if they moved the dates way up like into July or August and try to use Soldier Field before the NFL season starts?
Personally I like that the fest is in September. Pitchfork in July, Lolla in August, and Riot in September. A nice three month stretch of festivals but it never feels like they’re super close to each other.
They’ve done shows and small festivals on Cricket Hill before. NIMBYs lost their minds. They haven’t tried since.
What happened with MCR? I just googled it and all the articles are about how solid their set was. What was the issue? EDIT: Looks like it was just overcrowded from the other thread? I figured that's how it'll be at the WWWY fest and I plan on skipping them. I'm not their biggest fan anyway. I expected something a bit juicier though than just it was crazy busy.
If you think the pit bros at Douglass Park are bad, wait till they start throwing people off Cricket Hill
Oh sure- can't imagine anywhere on the planet where that wouldn't be somewhat of an issue though. But imagine watching the ETID reunion set in 2025 with the skyline behind them and the lake view to your side! Not to mention the obvious slip n' slide potential.