AUSTIN, Texas — Rain turned Zilker Park’s Great Lawn into a muddy expanse during the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, delaying the festival’s gates until 2 p.m. and renewing questions about how quickly the city’s heavily used park can recover. A little more than a half-inch of rain fell Friday and Saturday, leaving festivalgoers walking through mud. Austin City Council Member Ryan Alter, who represents District 5, called the damage “unacceptable” in a social media post and said the lawn must be returned to public use. “The Great Lawn is something that we all cherish,” Alter said. He also questioned how decisions are made about using city-owned spaces for festivals, though he said he did not believe the ACL agreement itself needed to be revised. Clearer expectations for lawn maintenance, he said, could help strike a better balance. C3 Presents, which organizes the festival, said it works with the city and Austin Parks Foundation on repairs and has invested millions of dollars over the years to build, improve and maintain the Great Lawn. The company said it would restore areas needing repair after this year’s festival, as it has in previous years. Austin Parks and Recreation said the city and C3 were working together on current conditions. Under the festival’s contract, the organizer is responsible for restoring the lawn and nearby areas, including replacing grass when needed, the department said. Crews were using double-ground mulch to address the muddy surface and remove standing water, according to the department. It said crews use as little mulch as possible, remove it after the festival and replace damaged sod. The grounds’ condition also has implications for other events and everyday park access. Alter said he was concerned about Zilker’s readiness for events scheduled later in the year, and emphasized that the space needs to reopen to the public. The festival’s economic benefits are part of the city’s decision-making backdrop. C3 announced that the 2025 festival generated about $600 million for Austin’s economy. Alter said the organizer pays the city more than $100,000 to use Zilker under its agreement. Some festivalgoers said the mud did little to dampen the atmosphere. “The crowd is just the same as always,” said Steffany Zuniga, who traveled from San Antonio. Austin attendee Clayton Schrader compared the grounds to an obstacle race and said he was prepared to get muddier.