PITTSBURGH — The NCAA tournament is back in Pittsburgh tipping off at PPG Paints Arena Thursday afternoon. The popular college basketball tournament draws big crowds with eight teams from across the country and a massive fan base.
“We decided that we’re going to take in all the basketball games tomorrow,” said Cory Raymond, who is visiting Pittsburgh from Ontario, Canada, for the first time. “The family loves Duke.”
VisitPITTSBURGH is expecting to see up to 20,000 out-of-town fans and players spending money at hotels, shops and restaurants.
Raymond and his wife drove seven hours from Ontario for March Madness.
“It’s not even one of our teams that we’re cheering for but we’re here and we decided to take in the sights and enjoy Pittsburgh,” he said.
In 2022, the last time the Steel City hosted the two rounds, VisitPITTSBURGH said the sporting event generated $10.4 million across Allegheny County.
The organization is expecting to see that same infusion over the next three days with an estimated 3,000 hotel rooms booked.
Managers at the William Penn Hotel and Westin Hotel in the heart of downtown told us they started taking reservations for the tournament in January and are almost sold out of rooms.
Mike Sukitch, who owns Mike’s Beer Bar on the North Shore, is hoping to cash in on the extra foot traffic.
“We have 27 TVs we’ll be playing all the games,” Sukitch said. “There are 1,000 rooms around us here of hotels so anytime they’re full for events, we get a big impact.”
By Wednesday afternoon, Sukitch’s bar was already packed with out-of-towners. He’s expecting even more people Thursday for the bar’s Duquesne Watch Party as the Dukes duke it out in Nebraska.
“I happen to be a grad,” Sukitch said. “From Wednesday to Sunday, we’d have business that would rival a really good crowd for a Pirates game.”
The Round of 64 kicks off on Thursday, March 21. The winning teams will compete in the Round of 32 on Saturday, March 23.
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