Extended Skyway Hours During 10 Days Leading up to Super Bowl
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 1:01PMVia a January 23 e-newsletter from mpls downtown council:
Skyways to have extended hours during 10 days leading up to Super Bowl in downtown Minneapolis
The mpls downtown council, Meet Minneapolis and BOMA Greater Minneapolis, in alignment with the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee, jointly announced today a plan to offer extended hours through key skyway corridors during the 10 days leading up to Super Bowl LII in downtown Minneapolis.
The skyway system will have distinct routes extending to the outer edges of the downtown Minneapolis area open from 6 am – 12 am daily from Friday, January 26 through Sunday, February 4. These paths with extended hours of operation will extend to U.S. Bank Stadium to the East, the Minneapolis Convention Center to the South, Target Field to the West and 3rd Street to the North, giving visitors, residents and workers alike dependable skyway routes each day. The central point of these skyway corridors will intersect at the IDS Center Crystal Court on 8th Street and Nicollet.
The routes will connect U.S. Bank Stadium with Super Bowl LIVE presented by Verizon along Nicollet as well as the Super Bowl Experience driven by Genesis at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Skyways that will open from 6 am to midnight for Super Bowl LII activities are displayed on the PDF map linked here. Michael McLaughlin, President of Urban Works, coordinated efforts to secure needed approvals from participating buildings.
In addition to the extended skyway hours, Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee volunteers will be deployed within the skyway system until 10 pm each day helping visitors with wayfinding. Special signage will be added to highlight these key corridors. Also, the Mpls Downtown Improvement District will be adding flags at street level to help direct people into the skyway system from several outdoor locations. DID Ambassadors will be provide guests with directions, including added Ambassadors along Hennepin and Marquette avenues on each side of Super Bowl LIVE presented by Verizon.
“We’re excited to showcase our downtown community as we host people from across the country and the world for the Big Game, and ensuring people can easily navigate our city at street level and in the skyways is important,” said Steve Cramer, president and CEO of the mpls downtown council and Downtown Improvement District, and chair of the Super Bowl Host Committee’s wayfinding committee. “Extending the skyway hours and providing extensive signage and resources are important elements in ensuring our guests efficiently get to their destinations during their stay.”
"We know that skyways are a unique attraction and novelty for visitors to Minneapolis, especially during the winter,” said Melvin Tennant, president and CEO of Meet Minneapolis. “The collaboration between BOMA, the mpls downtown council, Minneapolis Convention Center and Meet Minneapolis has helped to ensure that our visitors will have a positive experience navigating around the city."
“Crucial to the success of the Super Bowl is featuring one of our most valuable amenities, the skyway system,” said Kevin Lewis, Executive Director of BOMA Minneapolis. “Property owners in downtown Minneapolis have displayed civic pride and a willingness to be flexible by extending skyway hours for Super Bowl attendees.”
With more than 75 participating buildings and encompassing two-thirds of the 9 1/2-mile system, the extended skyway hours program that will be in place for the Super Bowl is the largest coordinated program in the 56-year history of the Minneapolis skyway system,” McLaughlin said.
For more information on Super Bowl LII, visit the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee’s website at www.mnsuperbowl.com. For more information on downtown Minneapolis, visit www.mplsdowntown.com, and for more information on DID assistance visit www.mplsdid.com/superbowl.
