The Winnipeg Whiteout Street Party is expanding following a victory for the Winnipeg Jets over the Minnesota Wild in the opening game of the first round of Stanley Cup playoffs.
Organizers said a total of more than 9000 people visited the closed section of Donald Street between Portage Avenue and Graham Avenue on Wednesday, with the crowd reaching a peak of around 5500 people at one time.
Even though the crowd stayed below the capacity of 6000 people, organizers said more space is needed.
Economic Development Winnipeg president and CEO Dayna Spiring said the boundaries will be moved one block south to St. Mary Avenue to create space for more than 10,000 fans for game two on Friday.
Two additional screens will be added for people to watch the hockey game along with more food and drink vendors and additional porta-potties.
For those looking to take in the atmosphere but not the alcohol, the expansion will also include a liquor-free zone at Millennium Library Park for families to watch the game.
“We’ve got a lot of capacity when we open up one more block and having that special area for families, I think, is going to give everybody a little bit more space and we’re ready for big crowds tomorrow night,” said Spiring. “The expansion's actually going to help us with safety. One of the things that we talked about this morning was that there were areas of that crowd last night where people were shoulder-to-shoulder and the police that we're working very closely with – the police and emergency services – one of their messages to us was, 'Hey, we need a little bit more room.'"
True North said it also plans to raise the height of the screen located at the north end of Donald near Portage so fans can see the game better.
The street party will be held before and during every home playoff game the Jets play.
Friday’s festivities start at 4:30 p.m. and will end one hour after the game.
The city said Donald Street from Portage Avenue to St. Mary Avenue will close Friday starting at 10 a.m.
