INDIANAPOLIS -- March Madness and Indianapolis are old friends that will be spending a lot of time together over the next few years.
Gainbridge Fieldhouse is hosting first and second-round NCAA Tournament games this weekend - a prelude to big weekends of tournament games in the future.
”No one does basketball like Indianapolis," said Dan Gliot with the Indiana Sports Corp.
In 2025 Indianapolis will host the Midwest Regional, meaning Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matchups.
2026 will see the Final Four return to Indianapolis for the first time since 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic. The games will be played in Lucas Oil Stadium and it will be the 9th time Indy has hosted the championship weekend.
In 2028 Gainbridge Fieldhouse will host the NCAA Women's Final Four.
2029 caps off the run with the 10th Men's Final Four in Indianapolis as teams will battle for that "One Shining Moment" once again in Lucas Oil Stadium.
”It’s going to be a grind but we get to do this and we're really excited to do this and very excited to put Indiana in a national spotlight," Gliot said.
Gliot said that run has involved years of behind-the-scenes work from partners around the city and shows off the special hometown connection the Circle City has with the Indy-based NCAA.
”it shows the commitment this city has to hosting large-scale events," Gliot said.
The year kicks it all off as Gainrbridge Field House welcomes teams like Florida, Marquette, TCU, Utah State and, of course, Purdue.
”It's great locally because all those fans can come, but also a great opportunity from those other fans from across the country to come," Gliot said.
Indy will be alive for all of the action – the Garage Food Hall at the Bottle Works District will host its third annual Bball Bash. Every TV will be on basketball from Thursday through Sunday.
”This Thursday, Friday, Saturday will be really busy," said Stuart Robertson, the owner of The Harbour inside the Garage. "We'll have extra staff on. We'll be ready for it, it's going to be great."
Across the Garage from The Harbour, Alex Ranch's Pig Pen has been preparing, too.
”My husband right now is in the back," Ranch said. "We're double-prepping everything, making sure that we're ready and trying not to run out of everything."
The Bicentennial Unity Plaza will become a free fan zone Friday through Sunday.
”We're going to have knockout contests on the basketball court, we're going to have food, drinks, a DJ, live music, tons of giveaways," Gliot said.
The plaza is fresh off its biggest event yet with the NBA All-Star Weekend opening night just more than a month ago.
”NBA All-Star was such a fantastic experience and we're just trying to keep that basketball momentum going," Gliot said.
Indy has had a fast start to 2024. In the last five weeks, the Circle City has hosted NBA All-Star Weekend, the NFL Combine and now NCAA Men's Tournament games. Not many other cities in the country can ever say they've done something like that.