Tax-Free Weekend Packs Sawgrass Mills for Broward Back-to-School Rush

Sawgrass Mills opened its doors at 9 a.m. Saturday into a parking field that was already filling, the first day of Florida's annual back-to-school sales-tax holiday and the busiest day of the year so far at the Sunrise outlet center. The state sales-tax exemption, which runs through the weekend, applies to clothing items priced at $50 or less and school supplies under $10, and is built into the calendars of South Florida families with school-age children.

The Simon-managed outlet stretches along West Sunrise Boulevard at the western terminus of Sunrise Boulevard, immediately west of the Sawgrass Expressway. With more than 350 stores across multiple wings and a footprint that puts it among the largest outlet shopping destinations in the United States, the mall draws regional traffic on any given weekend; the back-to-school holiday consistently delivers some of its highest single-day attendance figures of the year.

By mid-morning Saturday, BSO and Sunrise Police traffic officers were positioned at the major mall ingress points, including the Flamingo Road and Sawgrass Mills Circle approaches. Lots closest to the main entrances filled first, with overflow parking opening on the far western edges of the property. Tour-bus parking — used during cruise-passenger and out-of-state shopper visits the rest of the year — had been re-allocated for general parking to handle the local surge.

Broward families arrived with the standard back-to-school list: jeans, sneakers, polo shirts that meet school-uniform requirements, backpacks, binders. Outlet stores including Old Navy, Children's Place, Aeropostale, Sketchers, Nike Factory Store and Bed Bath & Beyond reported steady traffic from open through the early afternoon. The Colonnade luxury wing, opened earlier this decade with higher-end outlet tenants, drew a slower but steady stream.

The Florida Department of Revenue estimated statewide consumer savings from the holiday in the tens of millions of dollars across the weekend. The exemption applies at all participating retailers, not only outlet centers, and runs through Sunday evening. Broward County Public Schools opens for the 2003-04 year on Tuesday.