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Twins, Vikings will draw big crowds downtown, but beware of traffic disruptions

There are some ramp closures to keep in mind if you're coming downtown this weekend.

MINNEAPOLIS — It's a big sports weekend for downtown Minneapolis. 

The Twins host the first-place Cleveland Guardians in a critical series at Target Field, and on Sunday, the Vikings will open the 2022 season against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. It's not out of the realm of possibility that up to 200,000 fans may be streaming into downtown over the course of the next three days.

Isabel Jackson and her husband, Jerry, drove from Edinburg, Texas to attend the Twins game Friday night and the Vikings game on Sunday. 

"This is my dream vacation," said Jerry, a native of the Upper Midwest with family in Iowa and Sioux Falls. "I guess somebody really loves me."

Credit: KARE 11

If you're planning to attend any of the games downtown, though, keep some of the traffic disruptions in mind. Sunday may be particularly challenging, with the Twins and Vikings games starting within a few hours of each other. 

Through mid-September, the ramp getting off Interstate 94 eastbound at 4th Street, and the ramp from 3rd Street onto I-94 westbound are both closed for repairs and resurfacing. Also, crews have shut down the Hiawatha ramps that connect to downtown. The city of Minneapolis has outlined detour routes on its website to help fans navigate those closures. 

Or, you could avoid driving downtown altogether. 

Todd Smith, for instance, asked his wife to take him to Target Field Friday night.

"She was gracious enough to drop me off, so I'm looking forward to not dealing with parking, and getting an Uber or whatever it might be," Smith said, "to get out of here tonight."

In addition to rideshare options, the city also suggests using the METRO Blue and Green Lines, depending on where you're coming from. Both Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium also feature bike racks — if that's your preferred mode of transportation.

Isabel and Jerry Jackson have their car with them, of course, since they drove 1,474 miles from the southern tip of Texas for this Twins/Vikings extravaganza weekend. After the Vikings game on Sunday, they'll head to Jerry's hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the final leg of their trip. 

They hope to leave town with a win. 

"We gotta put the Packers in their place," Jerry Jackson said. "They're getting too confident right now."

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