INDIANAPOLIS -
Record crowds are packing the Super Bowl Village Friday night.
Eyewitness News Reporter Jennie Runevitch is among the crowd on Georgia Street. She reports that it took nearly 20 minutes to walk two blocks from Capitol Avenue to Meridian Street.
"It's crazy," said a woman in the crowd.
"I'm claustrophobic and I think I'm gonna throw up, but it feels great!" one man said.
The crowds got so thick and stretched in every direction, that bottlenecks became standard. People were smashed into fencing along Meridian Street, trying and failing to get close to the concerts.
"We're a little smushed, but it's all right, you know. Everything's cool," said one person.
The Department of Public Safety announced around 8:30 p.m. they were closing streets to vehicle traffic around downtown due to the large crowds.
The closures include:
Eastbound Maryland at West, southbound West at Washington, westbound Washington at Pennsylvania, southbound Meridian at Ohio, eastbound Maryland at Illinois (diverting northbound), Market at Capitol and Pennsylvania, Meridian and Illinois streets at South Street.
Monument Circle has also been closed to vehicles. At 10:15, the department announced that all inbound traffic was being diverted away from downtown, allowing only outbound traffic in the area around the Super Bowl Village.
The streets began reopening shortly before 11 p.m.
Get the latest from the Department of Public Safety
Unseasonably warm weather and the attraction of the city's first Super Bowl has brought record crowds downtown to Super Bowl Village and other sites. The first night of the weekend has brought more people downtown.
Friday's festivities will be capped by a concert by LMFAO on the Verizon Stage on Pennsylvania Street, in front of Bankers Life Fieldhouse. A concert by local band Holistic scheduled for the Pepsi Stage at Georgia and Meridian streets was canceled due to the crowds.
Before the show was canceled, Holistic member Iz Inferno was excited for the large audience.
"They're gonna start moving when we get on the stage," Inferno said.
