A 40-foot snowslide at CHS Field, a nearby night market with 100 vendors and lawn mower races on ice are among the events unveiled Thursday as part of the east metro's effort to offer a full menu of activities during the Super Bowl party next year.
The Visit St. Paul convention bureau's events include activities familiar to devotees of the annual St. Paul Winter Carnival that runs from Jan. 25 to Feb. 10. Those include the King Boreas Grand Day Parade on Jan. 27 and — weather willing — ice sculptures in Rice Park. The popular Red Bull Crashed Ice is listed as part of the action, but that takes place Jan. 18-20, the weekend before Super Bowl events begin in Minneapolis on Jan. 26.
Some newer activities focus on CHS Field, the Lowertown home of the minor league St. Paul Saints baseball team that opened in May 2015 near the Farmers Market.
The field is on the Green Line light-rail route in downtown St. Paul and will be the site of the giant slide and an ice-fishing pond. A "Bold North Winter Night Market" will be held nearby on Feb. 2-3.
At an afternoon news conference at the field, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said, "No one celebrates winter better than we do."
Coleman, who did not seek re-election, pointed out that he's going to be out of office during the event.
His successor, Mayor-elect Melvin Carter, was not at the news conference because he is on vacation, a spokesman said.
Saints executive vice president Derek Sharrer said the slide will have a 40-foot drop and travel about 140 feet to a point near second base. There will be entertainment on the video screens as well as concessions and heaters on the concourses. The event will run from Jan. 25-Feb. 10 on weeknights from 5-9 p.m. and longer on weekends. There will be an entry fee.
