A six-million-dollar state grant is preparing The Rapid for high-traffic events.
With the opening of Acrisure Amphitheater and the Amway Soccer Stadium coming next spring, multiple venues are hosting crowds at the same time.
Jeffrey King, external affairs for The Rapid, says initial parking concerns haven’t materialized.
“We certainly didn't run out of parking. We also found that visitors were also a lot more excited about walking around the downtown area before and after events, so the need to have immediate access parallel to the event space maybe wasn’t as important as everyone expected.”
But, King says, there is increased bus rider demand. The grant will fund six new buses to expand service – focusing heavily on park-and-ride routes to keep regional traffic off downtown streets.
“It creates a squeeze on the system as the roads are filling up as transit demand increases, which can ripple out across the entire system. The idea behind being able to add these additional buses on those evenings is that we're either able to maintain or increase the frequency along specific routes to help address that need, as it changes.”
King adds that extra service also supports hospitality and retail staff working downtown on high-demand nights.
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