Big Football Weekend Will Give Boost To Twin Cities
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- This weekend the place to be is the Twin Cities, especially if you've got kids and you love football.
On Saturday, the Gophers football team hosts the Nebraska Cornhuskers at TCF Bank Stadium.
On Sunday the Packers will take on the Vikings, and that means a Metrodome packed full of fans for both teams.
"Yes! This is a two-fer," said Brad Quimby, a Huskers fan from Lincoln, Neb., who is in town for his team's game and the NFL game too. "Once the schedules came out, it was a no brainer. It's a good experience, and it'll be a lot of fun."
Thousands of Huskers' fans are expected in the Twin Cities this weekend, and so are thousands of Packers' fans. In fact, the Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates $9 million will be spent this weekend by fans in town for the two games.
Restaurants and bars will get a slice of that money, and Sally's Saloon expects to be on the receiving end.
"We're anticipating the regular party that we have here for the football games, just a higher volume than usual I guess," said Megan Kittelson, the assistant manager at the bar near TCF Bank Stadium. "We order a lot more booze for the football games!"
If folks aren't spending at the stadiums, they might be shopping or sight-seeing at Mall of America, especially families. Kids are out of school for a long weekend because teachers are at their annual convention in downtown Minneapolis, so families will be actively searching for something to do.
"We see this as the perfect storm this weekend," said Bridget Jewell, a spokesperson for the mall. "Last year, we saw about 350,000 Friday through Sunday, and we're anticipating a big increase this weekend. We think it's going to bring a lot extra people, actually tens of thousands of extra people to the mall this weekend."
Since the Mall of America expects families to show up, Nickelodeon Universe will have extra staff.
Minnesotans are hoping for a winning weekend, but no matter what happens at the games, it'll be a fall weekend to remember.
