LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The city of Louisville and local businesses are excited for the return of March Madness and the revenue it will bring.
Louisville men's basketball fans are looking forward to the first-round matchup with South Florida, which tips off Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in Buffalo, New York.
"We're going to win this game, for sure," Louisville fan Aaron Johnson said.
But the Cardinals will be without star freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr., who is out for at least the first two rounds with a nagging back injury.
Regardless of who is playing for the Cardinals, seats will be filled to watch those games and the rest of the tournament at local businesses.
"During the game days, we have the whole bar filled up," said Isaiah Brown, an assistant general manager at Parlour Pizza. "There's usually no seats left. Sometimes people are just standing there because there are no seats."
Brown said they just entered their busy season, where the restaurant usually clears $20,000 to $30,000 more a week.
Over at Bearno’s, the business also expects to see an uptick in revenue due to the tournament games.
"People are very superstitious," Bearno’s co-owner George Timmering said.
Multiple businesses also plan to open early for games this week, including the NCAA Tournament matchups for Kentucky men's and UofL women's.
The Louisville women’s team will host Vermont in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center at noon Saturday.
"We always love UofL women's basketball, but we're even more excited this year," Timmering said.
Kentucky tips off at 12:15 p.m. Friday against Santa Clara in St. Louis.
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