MINNEAPOLIS — For the second weekend in a row, the Big Ten Conference took over downtown Minneapolis.
Following last week’s sellout of the women’s tournament, the city is hosting the men’s tournament this week for the first time in history. Despite the early exit from the University of Minnesota on Thursday, up to 120,000 people are expected to visit Minneapolis this week between the Big Ten Tournament and several large events at the Convention Center.
It’s a barometer of progress for the city, which shut down four years ago this week when COVID upended daily life in March 2020.
“To go from four years ago, to today, is phenomenal, amazing, and makes all of us smile,” said Kathy McCarthy of Meet Minneapolis. “The success of events such as this one, or large conventions, helps us bring in additional business. Many times, we use this as a selling point.”
According to an analysis by Meet Minneapolis, the city set a record last week with nearly 10,000 hotel rooms occupied on Tuesday, March 5. The hotel occupancy rate throughout the week increased 115 percent from 2023, driven not only by the Big Ten women’s tournament but also by a major American Physical Society meeting.
With the men’s tournament in town, thousands more fans took road trips from nearby states to catch more basketball action this weekend.
Keri Dodson, an Illini fan from Western Illinois, said she had been planning this trip since November. It’s her first time visiting Minneapolis.
“Really beautiful downtown. We love staying downtown,” Dodson said. “We’ve seen a lot of Illini fans here, and it’s very cool. It’s nice to feel that connection again (after COVID).”
Omar Brown, a senior vice president with the Big Ten Conference, said Minneapolis is a “big part” of the league – which is set to expand its footprint even further next year.
“The city is magnificent. Minneapolis is one of the best sports cities in America,” Brown said. “For us to be able to bring our tournament here and have all the fans here, it’s the right place at the right time.”
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