With a blizzard of football fans descending on Soldier Field to watch the Bears take on the New Orleans Saints for the right to play in the Super Bowl, the Shedd Aquarium is taking the unusual step of closing Sunday.
Its sister institutions on the Museum Campus, the Field Museum and the Adler Planetarium, will be open–though the Field will stop selling admissions and close at 2 p.m.
Usually, the Shedd remains closed only on Christmas. But officials decided the traffic generated by the crucial playoff game will cause difficulties for visitors trying to reach the neighboring aquarium.
The other factor in the decision was attendance.
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During the playoff game against Seattle, only about 3,000 visitors came to the aquarium, said Shedd spokesman Roger Germann, compared with normal Sunday attendance of about 6,000.
“We were looking at this Sunday’s game with the perspective that there is a tremendous buzz in the city about the game,” he said. “There will probably be early tailgate parties around the stadium and lots of house parties.”
At the Field, spokeswoman Pat Kremer said 1,700 visitors came to the museum last Sunday. “We didn’t want to turn 1,700 people away if they want to come this week,” she said.
The Adler, which also reported a severe dip in Sunday attendance last week, decided to remain open and maintain its normal 4:30 p.m. closing time.
“Even on Bears days, somehow and some way somebody makes it to our building, wanting to come in, whether it’s by cab, bus, walking,” said Adler operations chief Bill Wilhelm. “We know our numbers will be down, but we felt at this late date we couldn’t close, that we have an obligation to those who want to visit us Sunday.”
Museum visitors can park on the campus Sunday, but they will pay a game-day premium.