by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Tickets are sold out for the NCAA basketball tournament games coming to Jacksonville. But there’s still a chance for local fans to catch a dose of March Madness.
That’s the moniker given to the tournament, reflecting its propensity to produce heart-stopping upsets and Cinderella stories. And though tickets are gone for the tournament’s first-round games coming in mid-March to Jacksonville’s Veterans Memorial Arena, the March 15 practice sessions will be open to the public.
The March 16 and 18 games will bring eight teams to Jacksonville with the survivor ticketed for the Sweet 16 national quarterfinals. All eight teams will practice at the Arena in consecutive one-hour sessions starting at noon.
The practice sessions will be open to the public and the City will not charge for parking in its lots and garages around the arena, said Mike Sullivan, director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Sports and Entertainment Division.
“The practice sessions will be open to the public and it will be open parking as well,” said Sullivan. “It’s a good chance for people to get out and get a look at some of the elite college basketball teams in the country.”
The practice day helps make the tournament a week-long event for the City. That’s required extensive planning, but should pay off in hotel room stays, meals at local restaurants and drinks in local bars.
Sullivan estimates the tournament could result in 15,000 hotel rooms being rented for the week. The total number of rooms will depend on which teams win early, keeping their fans around.
“Four teams are going to lose early and a lot of their fans are going to leave,” said Sullivan. “Four teams are going to win and their fans are probably going to stay the whole time.”
City planners are crossing their fingers that one of those eight teams might be the Florida Gators. Sullivan said the Gators’ participation would certainly add to the buzz surrounding the week.
But the Gators shouldn’t have much impact on the week’s bottom line for the City, whether they stay local or get shipped out to another region.
“It would add to the festivities to be sure,” said Sullivan about the prospect of the Gators playing locally. “But it’s not going to make too much difference as far as ticket sales. We’re sold out already.”
Sullivan said the selection committee, charged with picking the 64-team field and where each team will play, looks to reward high seeds with familiar surroundings.
That means Jacksonville’s best shot to land the Gators depends largely on the team’s ability to finish the season strong. Florida will likely have to win at least two (and maybe all) of its last three games to gain a two, three or four seed in the tournament. That would give the team the best chance to come to Jacksonville, said Sullivan.