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Report: Jay Z's Made in America Festival Will Cost L.A. Taxpayers $170,000

City does the math after Hov's two-day concert.

Los Angeles city officials are tallying up the toll of Jay Z's first-ever dual coast festival, and it looks like it will cost the locals a whopping $170,000. What was earned by local businesses –– from the increased foot traffic –– has yet to be revealed.

Here's the math so far: Tens of thousands attended the Made in America Festival in L.A.'s Grand Park, reports The Los Angeles Times. The tab to support such a crowd came up to $670,000.

Live Nation, the company that organized the show, was required to pay at least $500,000 for police, street closures and clean up (among other incidentals), and is being billed another $83,000 for repairs for damage that was caused.

Mayor Eric Garcetti says ultimately, it was a good look. "We will absolutely net more as a city than we would if it hadn't happened," he said Monday (Nov. 10). "I'm confident of that."

This was the first year Hov held his festival in L.A. and there was some doubting among councilmembers. Although all of the numbers for this year are not yet in, Carol Schatz, head of L.A.'s downtown-based Central City Association is just as confident as the mayor that the event was "worth millions."

"It's not just a dollar-for-dollar comparison," she said. "It's about the perception … that L.A. is really the place to do this, and the place to do this in L.A. is downtown."

Previously, MIA was only staged in Philadelphia, where the festival generated some $10 million for the city in 2012 alone.

This year, Kanye West headlined both coasts. Afrojack, Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar were among other performers in L.A.

It is unclear when the final reports will be completed.

 

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(Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

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