Minneapolis Bar Patrons Stay Out Late To Celebrate All-Star Game
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We've had nearly a week of activities in Minneapolis leading up to Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Target Field.
Probably one of the most exciting for people was Tuesday's red carpet parade through downtown Minneapolis, the players, coaches and their families involved rode in vehicles down to the stadium. Thousands of people lined Nicollet Mall to watch players and baseball legends.
The crowds stayed around all day, some late into the night. It was a unique opportunity for businesses and for people who wanted extra time out and about. Bar owners we talked with Tuesday said they didn't expect a ton of people to be out until their establishments closed at 4 a.m. Wednesday.
But there were plenty of people out enjoying themselves and celebrating the big event at about 3 a.m., just an hour before the night would come to an end.
Bar owners said Tuesday they wished the Minnesota Legislature approved the one-day extension for Monday Night into Tuesday morning, instead of Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, because a lot of fans were going back to their hotels after the game. They needed to get a good night's sleep for traveling today.
Kieran's Irish Pub was one of 31 bars that received a special permit to serve customers until 4 a.m. They said they hoped it was going to be worth it because they had to pay for additional security, additional staff and permits.
"Any time you get an opportunity to grow your business, you want to be able to take that opportunity and it's something that doesn't come along very often," said Josh Petzel with Kieran's Irish Pub. "It's interesting to see how things go well and hopefully it's a busy evening for us and a busy, late night and people get home safely as well."
Safety was part of the Legislature's reasoning for letting bars stay open late. Law enforcement said it's better for large crowds to disperse in stages.