How Opera Supports the City
Arts and culture organizations are economic engines that generate thousands of jobs and spur business development in our neighborhoods.
Lyric Opera of Chicago, together with other vibrant cultural institutions in the thriving downtown arts district, inject an estimated $2.25 billion into the Illinois economy each year, according to a 2018 study by the Chicago Loop Alliance.*
Every $1 spent on the arts in the Loop
generates $12 in economic impact.
28.4 million people are in the Loop for the arts annually—that’s an average of 77,800 people every day.
28.4 million people are in the Loop for the arts annually—that’s an average of 77,800 people every day.
7.4 million performance tickets and museum entries are sold each year—that’s more than all of the city’s professional sports teams combined (6.4 million).
Downtown arts and cultural institutions are directly responsible for providing 15,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs each year as well as supporting an additional 1,352 FTE jobs in restaurants, hotels, and real estate.
Downtown arts and cultural institutions are directly responsible for providing 15,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs each year as well as supporting an additional 1,352 FTE jobs in restaurants, hotels, and real estate.
In addition, Loop arts and cultural organizations contribute $40 million in sales and hotel taxes and $81.3 million in real estate revenue
to the regional economy.
Support the arts. Fuel the economy.
Support the arts. Fuel the economy.
Making a gift to Lyric not only supports the arts, it fuels economic growth in the region, and helps keep the Midwest a vibrant place you can be proud to call home.
Every philanthropic dollar you invest in Lyric Opera of Chicago comes back to the community twelve-fold. The arts, and opera, enhance our quality of life, fuel creativity, spark innovation, and build resilient communities.
I believe in the value of opera and know how much this art form has meant in my life. It's important that Lyric remain one of the premier arts organizations in the city and one of the outstanding opera companies in the world.
*Economic impact was calculated in the Arts in the Loop Economic Impact Study using the amount spent by arts institutions and by visitors both "directly," at the arts venues, and "indirectly," at other businesses such as restaurants, shops, and hotels. It also includes estimated “induced impact,” such as spending and jobs in other industries supported by the related direct and indirect spending.
Photos: Todd Rosenberg, Jaclyn Simpson, Kyle Flubacker