Twins and Orioles at sunny Target Field this afternoon. Wolves and Warriors - game two - steps away at Target Field tonight. While the overlapping traffic situation remains to be seen, you won't find downtown Minneapolis business leaders complaining.
It's a boost alright.
"In the neighborhood of I would say 10 to $12 million per game for sure," says Minneapolis Downtown Council President and CEO Adam Duininck.
He says our sports teams are important brand ambassadors for the city, driving revenue and filling hotels and restaurants. As we sit here five years from the height of the COVID-pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, he says you can't underestimate the priceless national TV exposure as the Wolves' playoff run deepens.
"Hopefully there's an opportunity to continue to tell the country that this isn't the same Minneapolis we were, you know, three, four or five years ago," says Duininck.
With as may as 20 million TV viewers per playoff game, every shot of the Minneapolis skyline and river during those national TV broadcasts helps drive tourism he notes.
The nice weather we're having? That doesn't hurt either.
"It is a big deal for our city to be in the national spotlight like that every night that we're on national television," says Duininck. "That we attract audiences in the in the millions, people watching and they see those clips and they think to themselves, 'maybe I'd like to go see Minneapolis sometime.'"
If you are coming downtown - or you work downtown - you may want to plan ahead for some traffic and parking issues. You can reserve a spot to park via the City of Minneapolis here. They're also encouraging fans to use public transit if at all possible, including the light rail trains.
As for public safety with so much happening across Minneapolis? Police Chief Brian O'Hara says they're ready, and fans can expect to see their presence.
"We will be staffed up with our other law enforcement partners," O'Hara told WCCO. "We expect it, of course, to to be a safe night, and we expect the Wolves to win."