March Madness tips off in downtown Buffalo late Thursday morning. The city is hosting first and second round games in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this week. It’s been four years since Buffalo last hosted the college basketball postseason event, but leaders recall what worked in 2022, and what they need to look out for this time around.
“We expect approximately 19,000 plus fans, families, alumni and media to come to Buffalo this week. Those visitors will generate an estimated $7.6 million in economic impact,” said Patrick Kaler, president and chief executive officer of Visit Buffalo Niagara, which leads tourism in the city. “That's just the beginning. That's just the low level. It's going to go higher.”
One thing this year’s edition has going in Buffalo’s favor is a set of local and regional connections. Two of the universities participating in the Buffalo region of the tournament are Michigan and Michigan State. Michigan’s roster includes senior Roddy Gayle, a Niagara Falls, New York native who played some of his high school basketball at Lewiston Porter. Meanwhile, Olean native Bryan Hodgson is the coach of South Florida, which is also competing in Buffalo.
Organizers believe having local and regional connections will only add to the excitement, and the attraction.
“Every little story makes it a bit better. We’ve already got the whole state of Michigan on lock. It’s nice to have some local connections. This is one of the biggest sporting events in the country, and I think people will turn on either way. But when you have those local connections, it makes it even better,” said Pete Guelli, president of business operations for the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, and a member of the local March Madness organizing committee.
Kaler estimates sporting events, from big time games to amateur tournaments, will bring an estimated $81 million into the local economy this year. In addition to ticket sales, concessions and merchandise, these events also bring customers to local restaurants and hotels.
There will also be a day off between games, Friday, and Visit Buffalo Niagara will utilize an estimated 60 volunteers to help visitors find places to eat, and places to attend between games.
Kaler was asked what worked during Buffalo’s last turn as host that they may utilize this time as well.
“Our overall communication and getting the local businesses up and ready and prepared, so that they know that gap of time in between the two sessions, what they should expect, because we have a lot of new restaurants in town since the last time they we hosted in 2022,” he said. “It's just getting everybody prepared and understanding what to expect when all of these folks are in town.”
Also monitoring people’s movements will be Buffalo mayor Sean Ryan’s administration. Following an appearance Monday afternoon at a pre-tournament event, Ryan spoke of concerns such as parking issues. Those issues will range from increased demand for spaces to price gouging.
“This happened recently. They had the big monster truck rally down here on the weekend. Lot of people complained they jacked up the parking fees, booted cars because of mistakes. We have to work really closely with our private surface parking lot folks to make sure that they're not taking advantage of the fans,” Ryan said. “My recommendation for people coming into downtown Buffalo, park in the city-owned lots and take the rail down to the arena.”
Overall, local sports organizers find Buffalo in an exciting time. Between years of competitive seasons by the Bills, a recent surge in success by the Sabres, and a current three-time championship title defense by the Bandits pro indoor lacrosse team, Guelli calls it a “sports renaissance” in Buffalo.
“They're huge sports fans, and they deserve this. They deserve a moment like this,” he said. “They have the Bills playing like they're playing. They have the Sabres performing like they're performing. The Bandits chasing a fourth title and now hosting events like this? This is what this city was made for.”
