‘Going to be a crazy day’: Saskatoon businesses prep for Super Bowl Sunday

It’s a big weekend for sports fans as Super Bowl draws near, and Saskatoon businesses are busy preparing for the big day. Hallee Mandryk reports.

Saskatoon sports bars are eagerly preparing for one of the busiest days of the year.

“Super Bowl is the Super Bowl. It’s one of the biggest sporting days of the year, so it brings down quite a few people, from the diehard fan to just a casual observer,” Fred Chudskov, the manager at Sports on Tap, said.

Chudskov said Sports on Tap is already at 85 per cent capacity with reservations scheduled for the big game.

“We usually start prepping weeks in advance. Make sure we have the proper amount of staff on, you know, making sure we have our reservations all lined up so that we can accommodate all the guests... We have two great teams going to the Super Bowl and we have tons of prizes to give away, so come on down, and, you know, be part of the action, hopefully see a great game as well,” Chudskov said.

The Sports on Tap team is certainly not alone in its anticipation of a busy Sunday. Saskatoon’s Hudson’s Pub is also gearing up for an action-packed day.

“Big screen will be down, sound will be on. We’ve had a lot of fans coming in throughout the regular season to watch football, so I can only imagine Super Bowl Sunday is going to be really busy,” Morgan Rohtansky, a bartender and server at Hudson’s Pub, said.

Rohtansky added that Hudson’s will also be giving away a number of prizes throughout the game, ranging from a drink tower to a flat screen TV.

“There’s lots of people that still come in on Sundays during the regular season to watch, but Super Bowl is one of those things where you always need to have the right atmosphere, and everybody that comes out here to Hudson’s for the game, they create that atmosphere and as servers, bartenders, we just feed off of your energy,” Rohtansky said.

• Get the latest news from Saskatoon, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

While football is the main focus of the day, both bars emphasized that Super Bowl snacks are very important to many patrons.

“Wings are always a good thing. People got to have some snacks to watch the game. Burgers, beef dips... whatever people want the sky’s the limit for big games,” Chudskov said.

Rohtansky said one particular food is always the most popular when the big game rolls around.

“Nothing screams Super Bowl Sunday more than chicken wings... Super Bowl Sunday is going to be a crazy day here. We have an all-you-can-eat wings promo happening for 20 bucks,” Rohtansky said.

The server shared her personal favourite, emphasizing that Super Bowl Sunday is a good opportunity to try something new.

“Even if you wanted, make up a crazy combo, my favorite combo, and you can’t knock it until you try it - Salted caramel wings with our maple bacon rub seasoning, and you can’t find it anywhere else,” Rohtansky said.

As both pubs prepare for the big day, Chudskov said that while it takes a significant amount of work, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It is crazy but it’s a great crazy. Everyone just cheering and yelling and screaming, I think anywhere from, ‘go team to’ profanities when bad things happen and it’s quite a mix of emotions,” Chudskov said.