What to know for a busy evening in Downtown Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- If you're heading downtown for all the fun at Freedom Over Texas, be prepared for congestion.

There are three big events happening all around the same time, drawing in tens of thousands of people.

Outside Shell Energy Stadium in East Downtown, the crowds started filing in early for a double-header event in the Concacaf Gold Cup tournament.

Canada vs. Cuba begins at 5:30 p.m., and El Salvador vs. Panama is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Twenty thousand people are expected to attend these sold-out games just as an Astros game is expected to wrap up down the street at Minute Maid Park.

"There's an Astros game across the way. There's Freedom Over Texas on the other side of downtown. It's a busy night," Zac Emmons, with the Harris County Houston Sports Authority, said.

And parking will be at a premium, so be prepared to walk.

"Two blocks from down there," a soccer fan said as he was heading into the stadium, ready to cheer on El Salvador.

"The sports community in Houston is used to dealing with these kinds of parking challenges, traffic challenges," Emmons said.

To help with the hassle, soccer fans are being urged to ride the METRORail train, which stops right in front of the stadium.

And then, of course, another 50,000 people are expected to crowd into Eleanor Tinsley Park for entertainment and fireworks.

Freedom Over Texas begins at 4 p.m. with fireworks slated for 9:35 p.m.

Most of Allen Parkway will be closed for all the fun.

Organizers urge drivers to use street parking and parking garages in the theatre district around Walker and Bagby Street.

That means parking and walking.

If you want to avoid this mess and stay home in the air conditioning, remember you can watch Freedom Over Texas sponsored by Shell Energy, starting at 7 p.m. wherever you stream ABC13.

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