Here Come the Gymnasts
A year ago, Taylor Swift’s performances in Minneapolis drove hotel occupancy to record highs. If all goes to plan, this summer’s USA Gymnastics Olympic team trials could rival the pop star’s visit, say leaders at Meet Minneapolis, the city’s tourism bureau.
The trials will take place June 27–30 at Target Center, following a few other gymnastics-related events at the Minneapolis Convention Center beginning June 22. Event planners expect about 9,000 participants to visit Minneapolis over that time, along with 130,000 fans.
“Hotels are very happy with the bookings already in place,” says Meet Minneapolis president and CEO Melvin Tennant. “I’m anxious to see what the final numbers will be, but we anticipate being near full, not only in Minneapolis, but in other surrounding communities.”
This will be the first time that Minneapolis hosts the Olympic gymnastics trials, though it has hosted trials for curling and for Paralympic track and field and swimming. “It’s an international event,” Tennant says of the gymnastics trials. “If you look at all the other Olympic trials, gymnastics ranks near the top of viewership.” The event will also bring in “many, many hours of live TV coverage that we obviously could not afford to purchase on our own.”
Tennant believes that high-profile events like these pave the way for similar ones in the future. As he puts it, it’s more than a “one-and-done” thing; Meet Minneapolis has already lined up several prospective event organizers to visit during the trials.
