Vikings, Lynx, and Twins playing on same day bring 100,000s to Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - This weekend, many events drew people to Minneapolis. From Farm Aid 40 to the Vikings, Lynx, and the final home game for the Twins. So how much of an impact does this have on downtown Minneapolis? Well, FOX 9 has some estimates for you.

Weekend sports and concert impact

What we know:

The Minneapolis Downtown Council says for ticketed events, there were more than 300,000 people coming to Minneapolis. It sounds like a decent number, but that doesn’t include all the people coming down to bars to watch the games. This weekend, people could have been at Farm Aid on Saturday, or caught a Twins game. On Sunday, the Twins, Lynx, and Vikings were all playing.

"People have to come on down and experience downtown. That's what it's about having, having these times together and celebrating together, I think, is really a big part of it. The weekdays are getting a little busier as well, but this is such an exciting time for weekends too," said Kattie Fahey, Senior Director of Minneapolis Downtown Council.

Business impact in downtown Minneapolis

What they're saying:

It is also an exciting time for bars and restaurants. Many bars were packed in downtown Minneapolis with Minnesota fans. Also, there were some bagels and Cleveland Guardians fans spotted. We’re told by the Minneapolis Downtown Council that these types of weekend events could bring in $8 to $16 million for the city. So this is a huge opportunity for business owners.

"I think it's great to get people downtown. You know, all the stadiums are downtown. We rely on the stadiums, the events, the theaters, and all that to get people to come downtown. They can come down. They can see that it's safe downtown," said Dave Holcomb, owner and general manager of Gluek’s.

Another thing to note, when you have three teams playing on Sunday and all of them win, it’s a huge incentive to stay downtown and celebrate wins all night long.