Stanley Cup Final: 50,000 Crowd Downtown For Historic Game 3, Officials Promise Changes For Game 4

NASHVILLE, TN — With 18,000 or so inside Bridgestone Arena, chanting and cheering and partying the Nashville Predators to victory 5-1 over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, roughly 50,000 people jammed Broadway to watch the game and the pre-game concert featuring Country Music Hall of Famer Alan Jackson.

It was, by far, the largest crowd to gather to watch a Preds game and it mixed with the usual summer Saturday crowds of tourists, bachelorette parties and everyone else that's part of the Lower Broadway atmosphere. It was an "overwhelming response," Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation President and CEO Butch Spyridon said in a statement. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

Some on-the-fly adjustments had to be made. Originally, officials planned to block Broadway from Fifth to Third but extended that all the way to First. The plaza in front of Bridgestone Arena had to be cleared — it was re-opened shortly after — because of crowding concerns. Metro Police implemented a security barrier on Broadway and some people, thus, chose to watch the concert and the game from the sidewalks, which created congestion there, as well.

NCVC and Metro officials both noted that crowds for Independence Day and New Year's Eve are about three times as large as what was seen Saturday, but that the blocked-off space is usually larger.

The NCVC said adjustments are being made before Monday's event, which begins at 1 p.m. before the game starts at 7.