May 22, 2014
Which cities will profit off the Star Wars museum?
Chicago is competing with San Francisco to host a new George Lucas museum.
by Jeff Tyler
Chicago wants to lure director George Lucas to build his Lucas Cultural Arts Museum in the Windy City instead of San Francisco.
“We expect that the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum would generate between $2 and $2.5 billion in direct economic impact over ten years,” says Gillian Darlow, who co-chaired a task force to find a site for the museum in Chicago.
Attracting visitors is a pretty safe bet. Star Wars fans are devoted and they spend money. (A full storm-trooper costume can cost upwards of $1,200.)
But some conservationists and football fans aren’t crazy about the proposed site for the museum — currently, it’s the Chicago Bears’ parking lot.