Chicago's New Year's Eve Celebration No Longer Free

CHICAGO, IL - Chicago’s planned New Year’s Eve celebration is turning out to be a lot like parking on the street in some city neighborhoods.

What you thought would be free turns into a $150 fine because, well, you must have done something wrong.

Chi-Town Rising, the celebration hosted by Corona Extra and Hyatt Gold Passport with indoor and outdoor musical acts along the Chicago River, was originally billed as a “free” event, or at least one that would at least include a free viewing area.

But now, you won’t have a chance to catch a glimpse of DJ Sye Young, The NuBlu Band, Carlito Olivero and the other acts on tap for the evening for anything less than $100.

For Broadcast Boulevard, the outdoor area of the party south of the river where you get to see the main acts up close and have a shot to wind up on national television, tickets are going for $150.

At the Corona Beach House, an indoor party just a stone’s throw away from the main acts with a DJ inside, tickets are going for $119.

“What a load of crap,” said one woman on the Chi-Town Rising Facebook page. “This has been advertised as a free event for months. I purchased my hotel room back in the fall. I am not about to pay $150 per person now that you decided to take (sic) about profit days before the event. That’s INSANE. What gives? Not even from the area, now I’m forced to find something else to do in chicago on nye.”

Now, according to a response from the Chi-Town Rising page, there will be no free viewing area.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience,” the page posted on Dec. 22. “At the present time, the city has not designated any formal public viewing areas for the event, but the Rising Star and fireworks will be visible throughout the area surrounding the event.”

Mario Lopez, former host of Extra!, will host the event that will take place from 7 p.m. to past midnight and aired live on NBC beginning at 11 p.m. It is funded privately, without any city money.

A giant star will raise 36 stories up the Hyatt hotel on the river as the final minute of 2015 winds down.