Visit South Bend, DTSB talks about event-filled weekend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — It’s the calm before South Bend’s busiest weekend yet in 2019. 

The following is set to take place in the area: 

• The University of Notre Dame’s Blue and Gold game,
• Tim McGraw concert at Purcell Pavilion, 
• South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s big announcement,
• South Bend Cubs versus Lansing Lugnuts.

“Yeah, plenty going on this weekend,” said Christina Kloski, who lives in South Bend. 

Kloski was at a party for downtown South Bend residents on Thursday night. She said the jam packed weekend is great for the community. 

“I think it’s great for downtown residents to see the rest of our community coming out downtown,” said Kloski. 

Milt Lee, executive director at Downtown South Bend, Inc., said for any activity in South Bend people want to come out to the heart of the city. 

“We’re ready, downtown’s looking great, our restaurants are prepared,” said Lee. “So we’re hoping to have a really good weekend in downtown.” 

By gauging the number of hotel rooms being booked, Lee said the city should see an increase in visitors. 

“Anytime you have hotels filling up you’re going to have new people,” he said. 

Lauren Stout with Visit South Bend Mishawaka said they expect with the games, concert, and mayor’s announcement that this weekend will be huge for the city. She said the group hopes visitors will go explore.

“Being able to go to some of the local restaurants we have, being able to tour Notre Dame,” she said. “Just making the most of the time in the city.”

Last October, the Garth Brooks concert on the campus of Notre Dame had hotels in the area near capacity. Stout said that concert and most Fighting Irish home games contributed to a wave of new visitors. 

Sam Lima said he will be out of town this weekend and is bummed he is missing out on all the action. 

“It’ll be jam-packed and it should be a lot of fun for those who are here,” Lima said. 

Stout said Visit South Bend Mishawaka will have an idea of how many people visited the city this upcoming weekend by next Wednesday.