ST. LOUIS — It's another busy weekend across downtown St. Louis from the St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday to the Battlehawks home-opener on Sunday.
With thousands coming in and out of the urban core this weekend, safety is top of mind for everyone.
As officials continue to preach about safety in numbers and feet on the ground to deter crime, they've also put several things in place to ensure it's a fun and safe weekend for everyone.
From Market Street to the Dome at America's Center, St. Louis is welcoming thousands of people to downtown all weekend long.
Brian Hall, Explore St. Louis Chief Marketing Officer said, they are excited and energized for what's to come.
"It’s so wonderful to see sports bringing people together in the downtown corridor creating feet on the street, creating vibrancy, creating excitement, that’s what downtown St. Louis is all about," Hall said.
While a good time is at the core of the celebrations, Hall said, safety is too.
"Every precaution is being taken," Hall said. "We invite folks that are coming down to enjoy their experience but be city smart. Don’t leave items in plain sight in your automobile. Just be vigilant and keep your wits about you. If you are, we suspect you are going to have a fantastic experience in the heart of our community."
St. Louis Police is using the same patrol plan they did for St. Louis City SC home-opener.
Joe Morici, with SLMPD, said that means more patrols around the high-volume areas.
"Then once everyone is in the venues, we spread those officers out so they're further out in the footprint, where cars are being broken into and people possibly could be robbed," Morici said.
Paul Crowe, St. Patrick's Day Parade Chair, said they work closely with St. Louis police, fire and the Mayor's office to ensure the downtown are is safe when it's a sea of green.
"We have secondary police officers that are off duty that will come and help us support in key locations," Crowe said. "We have access to dozens of extra security forces, especially for the run, to block off intersections for any traffic needs."
While the dome is ready to welcome thousands of Battlehawk fans Sunday afternoon, Hall said, extra safety protocols are in place for game too.
"We're working with everyone. All resources are bringing brought to bear to make sure we provide a safe and pleasant visitor experience in downtown St. Louis," Hall said.
Even though the stadium seats aren't full yet, according to Hall, crews spent their Saturday cleaning and rehearsing to make sure the highly anticipated home-opener is just the start of future downtown success.
"Downtown St. Louis has become the entertainment epicenter for our region. Folks come here for sporting occasions; folks come down to eat. They come to enjoy the quality of life of St. Louis. We think feet on the street and vibrancy in the downtown core is so instrumental to St. Louis achieving its potential," Hall said.
If you are coming downtown to cheer on the Battlehawks, Hall said he recommends using Uber, Lyft or the Metrolink to come downtown.
He said if you want to drive, don't leave anything in your car in plain sight and plan ahead for parking.
You can see Explore St. Louis' preferred parking providers here, that Hall said, has all the state-of-the-art security protocols in place.