LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The road to the NCAA men's basketball championship runs through the KFC Yum! Center, and the Sweet 16 starts Thursday night.
College basketball fans gathered in downtown Louisville in anticipation for two games: Purdue and Tennessee tip off just before 7:30 p.m., and Oregon and Virginia are scheduled to start just before 10 p.m.
Downtown businesses are bracing for fans in full force.
“We think there will be a lot of Tennessee fans, Purdue and Virginia, and we hope some people from Oregon made the trip, because it's kind of a long trip,” said George Timmering, owner of Bearno’s Pizza.
Metallica set a record attendance at the KFC Yum! Center a few weeks ago, and that’s the kind of crowd Bearno’s is preparing for Thursday night.
“Equal to like a big concert night, like when Metallica came weeks ago,” Timmering said.
Louisville Tourism expects 24,000 people to attend the men’s games. Fourteen-thousand fans attended the women's tournament games last week in Louisville. Officials said the NCAA Tournament is one of the biggest tourist attractions of 2019 in Louisville, bringing in $21 million for the city.
As a result, businesses around the KFC Yum! Center are increasing staffing and staying open late.
“The second game is pretty late,” Timmering said. “So, we are going to stay open late to make sure the people leaving the games late have a place to grab a bit to eat.”
There are about 20,000 hotel rooms in the city, and most of those rooms are full this weekend, according to Louisville Tourism. That also accounts for other conventions in town, like the Mid-American Truck show.
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