ST. LOUIS – With the St. Patrick’s Day parade and the return of the Battlehawks, downtown St. Louis is getting ready for a busy weekend with hundreds of thousands of people.

The 54th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown St. Louis is back. The parade will kick off at noon on Market and 20th streets, then it will move east, bringing with it crowds up to 250,000, Irish pride, and a wave of green.

“Everybody’s friendly, everybody’s happy, and it’s a good time to party,” said Chris Campbell.

“There’s a buzz downtown,” said Jarod Bertrand.

The streets of downtown St. Louis are ready to go with road closures, barricades, tents, port-a-potties, and more. However, it’s not the only draw for crowds this weekend.

On Sunday, the St. Louis Battlehawks will have its first home game of the 2023 XFL season inside the Dome at America’s Center at 3 p.m.

The homecoming comes after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 30,000 fans are expected to turn out.

“Very good thing, good thing for St. Louis, brings football back and replaces the Rams,” said Spencer Howard, a Battlehawks fan. “We have a big football base, so I think it will be a great success.”

With some barricades and tents set up and more to come on Saturday, the Dome staff are gearing up. Parking will also be available three hours before kickoff.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said that they will have extra security at both events and will also use their mobile cameras for extra help.

They urge anyone planning to attend any of these events to leave their guns at home as well.