You could soon be sipping beer in the streets — a Downtown Festival District was approved

Knoxville City Council on Tuesday approved the Beer Board's proposed Downtown Festival District, which will allow people to consume alcohol on included public streets and sidewalks during certain events.

Beer Board Chairman and Councilman Andrew Roberto said there currently are just four active downtown events that could be impacted: Dogwood Arts Festival, HoLa Festival, Rossini Festival and the St. Patrick's Day parade and events.

A portion of the festival district includes Market Square, Market Street and a section of South Gay Street from Clinch Avenue to Cumberland Avenue. The graffiti alley in Market Square and the section of Union Avenue connecting Market Square and Gay Street are also included.

"New additions to Gay Street, in particular hotels, make it impossible to close all of Gay Street for downtown festivals," Roberto said in an email.

The largest section of the district would include all the space within the boundaries of South Gay Street, Clinch Avenue, Market Street and Cumberland Avenue.

Old City is not included in the festival district but is already covered by city code to allow alcohol sales with special permits.

The Market Square "mall" is also included in the existing city codes; the Downtown Festival District just expands where alcohol is allowed.

The ordinance states the City has "received a number of requests" to allow people to have alcohol on public streets during certain festivals.

The proposal was considered an "emergency ordinance," meaning it only required a single reading and vote Tuesday night.

Here are some of the rules for the Downtown Festival District: