INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WDRB) -- Indianapolis plays host to the Final Four this year and tourism officials say they expect 70,000 basketball fans to make the trek to watch their teams play.
"Final Four Drive" replaced the regular street sign in front of Lucas Oil Stadium Wednesday. It was just one part of the basketball themed transformation around Indy ahead of the last tournament games.
"We're hungry to roll out the red carpet, or maybe in this case blue carpet for all the Wildcat fans coming this way," said Visit Indy Spokesperson Morgan Greenlee. "And so I think you will see all hands on deck."
The University of Kentucky is just one of three teams within easy driving distance of Indy, so the crowds are expected to be big for this Final Four.
"We hosted the final four in 2010," Greenlee said. "The day after that Final Four, our city officials were getting together to discuss what we can do bigger and better to make this a great event for the city."
The city is already buzzing. Big screens are going up, sets are under construction and restaurants are bars preparing for more customers.
"We're definitely expecting all four schools to come in hard," said Dave Luterman, the assistant general manager at Kilroy's.
Max Morris, a UK fan living in Indy, expects big blue nation to take over Friday.
"I'm ecstatic," he said. "This has been one of the slowest weeks of my life so I'm just ready to get going."
"I've had tickets for a while now," Morris said about the Saturday game. "Actually got in my father's ear last year after we lost, let him know it was going to be in Indy and he called me back sometime in the fall letting me know we got tickets."
Visit Indy says ticket prices have continued to go up and if you don't have one there are a lot of other things to do around town.
There's open practices, Fan Fest and free concerts at White River State Park. You can also just add to an expected sea of blue.
"We know wildcat fans know Indianapolis, we know it's easy to get here and they'll come in full force," Greenlee said.
If you are heading to the games, there are some things you can't bring into the stadium. Click here for more information.
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