INDIANAPOLIS - The countdown is officially on: we are now 27 days out from the NBA All-Star 2024 weekend.
The biggest weekend in basketball is expected to bring more than 125,000 people to Indianapolis.
That's why officials are working to make sure they're prepared for any scenario.
"In Indianapolis when we host these major events, we don't typically just hand over the keys and say, 'Here ya go NBA, have a great event.' We like to make it so much more than the game," said Dianna Boyce, the vice president of NBA All-Star 2024.
Boyce said there are 24 separate committees with more than 450 people across the state who are helping plan the big weekend.
Each committee is devoted to its own separate task raning from security to emergency weather preparations.
"Weather preparedness is one of our 24 committees that's been working on planning for four years," said Boyce. "And they have identified everything from snow removal to being in touch with the city and the state about the different public thoroughfares, and we are ready. We've got a binder that's this thick."
Boyce said numerous state and federal agencies have been involved in planning the weekend.
Indy's DPW and INDOT will also help clear any weather issues that would impact sidewalks or traffic outside the fieldhouse and around the city.
"We're also working on what we're calling the blue and gold routes. So encouraging people, here are the streets you should travel when you're coming downtown and here are the streets you should avoid," said Boyce.
IndyGo is even offering free bus fare for the entire weekend to make sure fans get to and from the games safely.
Boyce says the fan experience outside of Gainbridge Fieldhouse is important too as they have been working to promote the weekend with new street signs downtown and even adding a basketball court inside Indianapolis International Airport.
All are efforts to share Hoosier's love of basketball and the city of Indianapolis with the rest of the world.
"We know that our goal here is to share our love in Indiana of basketball with the world and here's this opportunity," said Boyce.
For more information about the event, click here.