You don’t have to be a Patriots or Eagles fan (or even a football fan, trust me!) to enjoy all the excitement happening in our Twin Cities this weekend!

If you’re thinking about bundling up to check out the festivities this weekend, here are some tips from us at Jane Schmidt Homes:

Plan your transportation in advance!

  • Park and Ride: Maple Grove, Blaine, Maplewood, Minnetonka, and Richfield each have special service park-and-ride schedules for Saturday, February 3rd for $2.50 each way (exact change only) and dropping you off one block from the convention center.
  • Metro Transit and Light Rail: some regular routes and schedules are rearranged for the weekend. Check the Metro Transit website for details and to find out about FREE routes between Washington Avenue and the convention center! And, there’s an app for that: Metro Transit App
  • Parking in and near Downtown MPLS: Did you know you can reserve parking in advance? It’s pretty slick! Pick your date, enter a start time and duration, and you’ll get a map pin-pointing locations and prices. We reserved parking for just $14 for all day Saturday! That’s cheaper (and more convenient) for our family of four than taking the park-and-ride bus! Make your reservations here: https://sb.lazparking.com/Widget/sb/

There’s a seemingly endless list of activities, both official Super Bowl events and locally organized events highlighted our Twin Cities best:

  • Planning to visit Super Bowl Experience to see NFL players, check out Super Bowl memorabilia like all 51 rings and the Vince Lombardi trophy, or put your football skills to the test via virtual reality? Get your tickets in advance and choose your entrance time to avoid waiting in line (or missing out on entrance all together).
  • Check out Super Bowl Live for lots of Minnesota flavor including free live music on Nicollet Mall, a snowmobile stunt show, food trucks, and lots of photo ops including the life-size snow globes along the mall and ‘Sota Pop!
  • Catch some live music at some of our favorite MPLS venues! First Avenue has dance parties Friday and Sunday nights. Bunkers has live music all weekend, including a Pink Floyd tribute show on Saturday afternoon.
  • Don’t be afraid to venture out from Nicollet Mall! There are tons of great restaurants in the North Loop. We’ve heard that they’ve been surprisingly easy to visit without a long wait (or any at all) for a table! If you’re making the visit Downtown, why not branch out and try a new restaurant while you’re there?

It’s cold! Be smart and safe! We Minnesotans are hearty and don’t let the cold bother us, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take proper precautions when it’s this dangerously cold.

  • Dress in layers of lightweight clothing to keep in body heat. 
  • Don’t leave skin exposed. Wear a warm hat that covers your ears. Throw on some wool socks and those fur-lined heavy-duty winter boots. In these negative temps it’s no time to concern yourself with fashion! (Although I think Bold Northerners know how to pull off “bundled-up chic”!)
  • Utilize our skyway system to get a break from the elements!