Chicago made a bit of money on NASCAR 2024

NASCAR’s second year in Chicago came with slightly sunnier skies, slightly fewer critics and an ad hoc deal that helped the city’s bottom line improve slightly, ending the big downtown race weekend a few hundred thousand dollars in the black.

That was an improvement over 2023, when critics not only ripped the inconvenience of closed roads and limited access to Grant Park, but said the overall cost to host it wasn’t matched by the benefits: The city spent nearly $4 million that year but received just $620,000 in direct payments from the racing company.

This time, the city shelled out $2.44 million in overtime, roadwork and payments to the company that runs Chicago’s parking meters for taking spaces offline this summer for the race, according a Tribune analysis of documents obtained from open records requests. NASCAR made $2.77 million in direct payments to the city in return.

What changed? City costs for roadwork tumbled. And to assuage critics, NASCAR promised a $2 million payment to help the city recoup overtime costs and reduced its setup and takedown time. The city was also guaranteed a bigger share of food, beverage and merchandise sales in its original contract.

Receipts from NASCAR included a $600,000 check to the Chicago Park District in March, which covered a required base permit fee also laid out in NASCAR’s contract as well as a $50,000 deposit to cover potential park damage.

This is the first year NASCAR chipped in to help cover public overtime costs. In a letter sent late last October, NASCAR’s Julie Giese wrote that “in recognition of the mutual desire to build” on the first year’s success, NASCAR would commit “to contribute $2 million to the City for each of the 2024 and 2025 NASCAR Chicago Street Race events” on top of its permit fees to the Park District.

A check for $1,951,254 landed in city coffers on Sept. 20. The sum was about $50,000 short, NASCAR and city officials said, to account for a separate fee NASCAR paid to the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

The racing company also owed $2 per ticket, plus 20% of food, beverage and merchandise sales following the July race. The Park District received a $220,552 check from NASCAR for that part of the deal on Sept. 26. Officials only confirmed the amount in response to a public records request after an outside economic impact report landed that painted a much rosier picture of the event’s benefit to the city.

That report found the race generated $128 million in total economic impact, up 17% over last year, as well as $43.6 million in media value for the city and $9.6 million in tax revenue to local and state government.

Critics are generally skeptical of such findings, however, saying they often overinflate benefits and rarely account for lost revenue due to disruption or fresh costs wrought by visitors. The 2023 and 2024 reports did not compare race weekend economic activity against a normal July Fourth holiday weekend.

While it had lower overall attendance, the 2024 Chicago Street Race played out better for NASCAR: The prior race was sidelined by torrential rainfall and fell short of the projected economic benefits.

In 2023, the city paid more than $3.5 million for roadwork and police overtime. The cost of emergency worker overtime and true-up payments for lost parking meter revenues cost another roughly $400,000.

Racing officials argued Chicago’s gain in 2023 went beyond the $620,000 it got in direct permit fees, since NASCAR paid $1.8 million in amusement taxes and spent more than $50 million to put on the race.

NASCAR and Mayor Brandon Johnson also pointed to last year’s outside report finding the race generated $109 million in economic impact and $23.6 million worth of media exposure. Attendee spending also added to the city’s amusement, sales and hotel tax receipt bottom line.

Though Johnson had an option to nix the second and third years of the deal negotiated by his predecessor as mayor, Lori Lightfoot, he invited the race back for another shot, securing the $2 million deal to help pay for city worker overtime.

Roughly 1,700 police officers were detailed to NASCAR in one way or another between June 30 and July 12 this year, according to CPD data received through an open records request. Of those, about 1,500 officers logged overtime, records show. About 69% of credited overtime hours were labeled “involuntary R.D.O.” — short for an officer being asked to come in on a scheduled day off.

In all, police overtime cost $1.63 million, a slight increase over 2023’s $1.4 million price tag. Overtime hours are not necessarily an immediate cost to the department; they can be saved and paid out later or used as compensatory time.