MINNEAPOLIS — It's that time of year again when everything collides in the sports world.
Just look at the schedule in Minneapolis this weekend.
The Lynx -- who own the second-best record in the WNBA -- will host the Chicago Sky on Friday evening at Target Center as the regular season winds to a close. The Twins, clinging to a wild-card spot, will host the Cincinnati Reds for a three-game series. The Red Bull Showrun will close down streets in a unique exhibition of Formula One on Saturday afternoon. And then, on Sunday, the Vikings play their home opener against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium. And did we mention the Gophers have home football and volleyball games on the University of Minnesota campus, too?
Raymond Calara and Jessica Zambito came from New Jersey to experience this sports weekend in the Twin Cities. Even without strong connections to any of the teams playing, they're big sports fans and decided to include Twins/Reds on Saturday and Vikings/49ers on Sunday as a part of their fall trip to Minneapolis.
"We've heard a lot about Minnesota," Calara said. "It's beautiful."
"As a Jets fan, it's interesting seeing good old Sam Darnold here in Minnesota! Not doing too bad," Zambito added. "Thanks, Sammy, for that!"
It's the best kind of weekend for Meet Minneapolis, which says hotel occupancy last month was the highest since October 2019. Hotel revenue has also soared, according to the group, with three straight months of revenue over $42 million.
"Sports and special events have really been helpful to us in seeing our industry return to its former glory," Meet Minneapolis CEO Melvin Tennant said. "The big piece of what we've not seen return is business travel. Business travel still has not come back the way it was, but in terms of group meetings and conventions, and special events, the sporting events converging in one weekend, we're really excited about that. With all the different fans coming to downtown Minneapolis over the weekend, is going to be really, really busy."
For Meet Minneapolis, the success of local teams is a huge bonus -- because that means extra games and extra revenue. Hopefully, the Twins will bring some October baseball to the city again this year, and the Lynx look primed for a deep run in the WNBA playoffs.
"It's great because we extend our season," Tennant said. "We have a lot of festivals and special events that take place between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and to be able to get beyond that is really important."
Margie Clauss, a South Minneapolis native, said she's most excited about the potential for a Lynx playoff run this fall. The team could recapture the magic of the last decade when it won four WNBA championships.
"Those were really pivotal to me, because I played basketball in high school and college. Just really excited to see them being good again," Clauss said. "I love Napheesa Collier. Just in general, I love the whole Lynx team, how they play together. They're just a really fun team to watch."