New study shows downtown Minneapolis activity makes a major rebound

Over the last year, downtown Minneapolis has made a significant return according to a recent study.

Minneapolis is the top ranked major city to increase it's activity from March 2023 to February 2024.

"The North Loop continues to outpace I think darn near anywhere in the metro with regards to activity and vitality," Jonathan Weinhagen with Minneapolis Regional Chamber explains.

The downtown saw a 45% increase during that period. Winning sports teams have helped too, as have other big events.

"We've had the biggest weekends in the city's history," says Weinhagen. "We can look back here just a few months to Taylor Swift's back-to-back shows that drew millions of people into the region and into downtown. And that's actually becoming the trend."

Thanks to major concerts, sporting events, and a thriving theater district, downtown Minneapolis is once again the place to be.

A recent study from the University of Toronto shows that Minneapolis has increased it's activity more than any other major city in the country from March 2023 to February 2024.

"One of our biggest audiences are, you know, the suburban communities," says Weinhagan. "It's the folks who live 20 minutes outside of the city, coming back downtown and remembering that they love this place."

The study tracked cell phone activity across 62 downtown metropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada since January 2020 to gauge how activity compares to before the pandemic.