It’s a double whammy. Phish is playing two benefit concerts at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and the Travers Stakes will be held at the Saratoga Race Course.

Both are on the calendar this weekend, and expected to draw large crowds to the Spa City.

“This is like the Super Bowl for Saratoga Springs, isn’t it?” said Todd Shimkus of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.

It’s also a perfect storm of sorts.

“The reality is, we don’t have enough hotel rooms in Saratoga Springs or Saratoga County to accommodate everyone that is going to be here, whether it's for the track or for Phish,” Shimkus said.

Having originated in Burlington, Vermont, Phish has extensive ties to the region and SPAC, where on Friday and Saturday the band will take the stage. Proceeds will benefit the Waterwheel Foundation’s 2023 Flood Recovery Fund, which is assisting people across our state and Vermont.

“We want to embrace that opportunity," Shimkus said. "It’s not just good for our local economy. It’s really great for those residents and businesses in our neighboring state who really need that extra support. So we’re all in on this.”

City leaders are anticipating tens of thousands of people to trickle through the area.

“Our first responders have an 83-page plan of action,” Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety Jim Montagnino said.

Montagnino said the city is ready with additional equipment like ambulances being brought in, and many people working overtime. He noted their work won’t end after the events, with a heavy presence planned into the night, along Caroline Street in particular.

“K-9 officers, we’ll have equine officers, bicycles patrol, foot patrol and, of course, patrol cars as well,” Montagnino said.

The commissioner said he can guarantee one thing: traffic. So he’s encouraging visitors to find a place to leave their vehicles.

“You’re better off letting someone else do the driving,” he said.

That will allow people to safely accomplish something like this.

“What I’m looking for is those rockstars that can figure out a way who can go to the Travers and the concert on the same night,” Shimkus joked.

City officials are expecting about 100,000 people, or about quadruple the size of the city’s year-round population.