Downtown Sacramento Businesses Report Big Boost From McCartney Concert
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The beat of the city gets ready to rock for a second night, and not just in the Golden 1 Center.
"This place was so packed, I thought it was a Saturday," said Andres Polo, who works nearby at El Rey.
Thousands of concert-goers packed in the downtown corridor, making it a top-selling night for restaurants and bars.
"At first I thought this was just a restaurant, we're going to be at a restaurant, but last night this place was a full on nightclub," he said.
After just one night, even skeptics are on board.
"At first I had my doubts but now I see how they're looking at it," said John Ketchum, who works at Boost Mobile on K Street.
The business stayed open an hour later with mass foot traffic flowing by.
"It was pandemonium. Like you see this block right now, it's quiet, about 4 o'clock that's going to end," he said.
Regional Transit said it was a big night with 10 percent of concert goers taking the light rail.
"We will make some minor changes," said Susan Bitar with RT.
The train made it easy to get in and out, but not everyone knew where they were going.
"The train you come in isn't always the station that you leave on, so people just need to know that," she said.
As for the controversy and skepticism surrounding traffic flow and parking, city leaders said two years of planning made it a smooth ride.
"We planned for this and we practiced it with the soft openings and last night was the test and we did tremendously well," said Sgt. Michele Gigante with Sacramento Police.
Many reserved parking spots in garages and took advantage of paying street parking.
The biggest concern was the flow of traffic and parking and with that as a success, the city said this arena is a slam dunk.
"It really activates the downtown core from five to 10 o'clock at night, which is key because we didn't have that before," said Dion Dwyer with Downtown Sacramento Partnership.
They're hoping the second night proves to be another success.
