ST. LOUIS — St. Louis sports fans are gearing up for a jam-packed weekend full of sports. The Cardinals will play at Busch Stadium for two more games this weekend. On Saturday, a CITY SC match, the Battlehawks home opener, and a sold-out Zac Brown Band concert featuring Adam Wainwright at Chaifetz Arena on Saturday.
As thousands flock downtown, safety is a top concern and priority. That's why St. Louis police say they'll have extra officers patrolling the downtown area throughout the weekend.
Each venue will also have off-duty officers working.
"We have pretty much as a standard now of a weekend detail that focuses on downtown, and we shift resources as needed given the events that are going on, so we have been well aware for a few weeks now of the events that are happening on Saturday," Capt. Christian Stamper said. "We'll have plenty of officers down here to address traffic concerns and the extra people trying to make everyone safe and have a good time."
Officers say to leave valuables and weapons at home if you're driving to any games this weekend. After you've parked, they say to double-check your vehicles to ensure they're locked and secure.
Police also recommend that you check your car alarms and use a steering wheel lock if you have one for extra caution.
St. Louis police have been talking to parking lot owners about how to step up security on their lots.
"Things that have been specifically talked about in the past have been whether or not the lots can be fenced in, if there can be some type of barrier whether its a gate or some type of armature to prevent vehicles from coming in and out, that arent necessarily paying to park on that lot. The main importance is just ensuring that those lots have staff on-site throughout the entire event. I believe there's some requirement, maybe like up to an hour after the event ends, just to make sure people have time to get to their vehicles and that there's still some type of security," Sgt. Charles Wall said.
In the meantime, officials recommend using a rideshare service or taking the Metrolink if you're worried about your car being broken into.
"Traffic is a concern, particularly if some of the events might be ending at the same time. We encourage folks to use rideshare to the extent that they can to limit the amount of vehicles that we have. That's always beneficial. We do the best we can to manage the traffic. But give us some patience because we have multiple events going on," Capt. Stamper said.