Minneapolis Super Bowl Host Committee raises $50 million, plans street closures

The Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee has already raised $50 million three months before the game.

The money chase will continue, but it is at significantly more than the $30 million figure the committee told the Star Tribune at last year's Super Bowl events in Houston.

"The more we raise, the more we can spend," spokeswoman Andrea Mokros said. "The more we can raise, the more we can do."

The committee is a private organization that doesn't have to reveal details of its finances, but it's also a not-for-profit. "Every dime we raise is going back into the event," Mokros said.

To compare, Houston had $70 million for the 2017 Super Bowl, but $30 million of that was a public subsidy from the state of Texas.

The host committee's biggest responsibility is Super Bowl Live on Nicollet Mall. The free public event features live music, food trucks, winter sports demonstrations, live network broadcasts and other sponsored activities.

The committee has already recruited hometown hitmakers Jimmy "Jam" Harris and Terry Lewis to coordinate the music lineup, and the duo indicated a strong desire to bring in Janet Jackson as well as other performers with Minnesota ties.

Mokros wouldn't provide specific examples of how the money will be spent, but the committee has a $5 million agreement with the city of Minneapolis for public safety and transportation matters.

That plan came into public view Thursday with the posting of a traffic management plan on a City Council agenda.

The traffic adjustments are focused on three areas: Nicollet Mall, the Minneapolis Convention Center and, of course, U.S. Bank Stadium. Super Bowl organizers have spent more than a year working on the street plans with city and regional officials. Their aim has been minimal disruption to downtown workers and residents.

If the Minneapolis City Council approves the plan, there will be four main closures. The details will be discussed in the council's Transportation and Public Works Committee on Monday.

Organizers also will have a news conference Monday about their entire "Know Before You Go" plan for navigating the cities during events.

The first street closing will come Jan. 19, blocking off S. 8th Street between LaSalle and Marquette avenues. That's the main corner of activity for Super Bowl Live.

Super Bowl Live runs weeknights and weekend days from Jan. 26 through Sunday, Feb. 4. It takes place on Nicollet Mall between S. 6th and 12th streets

The other Nicollet Mall cross-streets, which are one-way streets, along the Super Bowl Live route will be reduced from four lanes to two within a block of the event so security can properly protect the area.

Those restrictions will remain in place until early Feb. 6, the Tuesday after the game.

The next closure comes Jan. 24 on the north side of the Minneapolis Convention Center, the site of the NFL-sponsored Super Bowl Experience.

Second Avenue, the closest road in front of the building, will be closed from S. 12th Street to 1st Avenue. That road will be closed until Thursday, Feb. 8.

On the eastern end of downtown, S. 4th Street between Park Avenue and the freeway will be closed from Saturday, Jan. 27, until 5 a.m. the Monday after the game.

That closure forms a semicircle around the north side of U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Monday before the Super Bowl, Jan. 29, S. 6th Street between Chicago and 11th Avenue S. will be closed until early Monday after the game.

That closure requires a reroute of vehicles looking to enter U.S. 94 eastbound. Cars will be directed to S. 8th Street down to 11th Avenue from which they can enter the freeway. That's the only major freeway access that appeared to be affected directly by the proposed closings.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747