Visitors flock to NCAA Tournament; city aims to capitalize

Welcome to March Madness, Columbus. More than 25,000 basketball fans are expected to descend on central Ohio to see eight teams face off today and Sunday at Nationwide Arena for the first- and second-round games of the men’s NCAA Division I tournament.

In addition to the fans, the games will draw the teams and tournament officials. In all, more than 4,000 central Ohio hotel-room nights have been booked for the event.

Banners and decorations throughout the city welcome the visitors, who are expected to spend more than $6 million.

This is the fifth time in 15 years Columbus has hosted early round men’s Division I tournament games, but the first since 2015.

Since then, Columbus’ cred as a basketball town has continued to grow. Last year’s Women’s NCAA Division I championship games were considered a proving ground that Columbus could handle that level of an event. The city won praise for hosting that Final Four, which produced more than $21 million in spending and generated record attendance and viewers.

Columbus officials would like to parlay that event and this year’s men’s tournament into the next round.

Linda Logan, executive director of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, said Columbus is happy to host games at any stage of tournament play, but the city will continue to bid on games at the Sweet 16 level, as Columbus has twice before. Each bid can contain offers to host for multiple years.

“I personally like when we have the earlier rounds. We draw from eight different teams with eight different fan bases,” Logan said. But she and other tourism officials would be thrilled to get an NCAA regional and the added attention that comes with it.

The teams coming to Columbus this year offer a good mix of top-seeded national draws (North Carolina, Tennessee) and regional teams (Cincinnati), whose fans are likely to turn out in Columbus in droves because of its proximity.

Regardless of the teams playing inside Nationwide Arena, Logan is confident that games will have a big audience.

“We have a lot of sporting events in Columbus; this one really is a fan favorite,” Logan said. “It’s really a marquee event that people like to attend and watch . ... Our community has a history of strong attendance for these games. They come out no matter who the teams are.”

Still, it would be nice to get later-round games and all their glitz and media attention, Logan said.

“We do put in a bid for both,” she said, adding that the next bidding cycle should start later this year, with decisions announced early next year for locations through 2025 or 2026. Columbus was selected for this year’s games several years ago.

Columbus is out of the running for Final Four games, which go to cities with the largest facilities. U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, which will host this year’s men’s Final Four, holds more than 66,000 people, compared with 20,000 for Nationwide Arena.

But Columbus could certainly accommodate a regional: Kansas City’s Sprint Center, which will host this year’s Midwest Regional, has a capacity of slightly less than 19,000. The Missouri city, however, does have several thousand more hotel rooms than Columbus, according to the hospitality data firm STR Global.

As the tournament progresses to the regionals, games attract larger crowds and, therefore, more visitor spending. They also gain more attention in the media.

For those in Columbus who can’t make it to Nationwide Arena this weekend, there are plenty of other opportunities to see tournament basketball throughout March. The Ohio boys state tournament is underway at Value City Arena, and next week Ohio Dominican University will host the women’s NCAA Division II Elite 8.