March Madness set to bring thousands of people — including the Badgers — to Milwaukee

Eight college teams are descending on Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum as games for March Madness get underway. The Wisconsin Badgers will take part in a game against Colgate late Friday in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Members of the public had the chance Thursday to watch open practice.

Ron Wozny of Chicago says this year’s tournament is the 30th he’s been to.

“It’s kind of old habit by now,” Wozny said. “(I) come up here quite a bit, being so close and things, so always fun to come to Milwaukee.”

Luke and Lisa Adair came to Milwaukee from Chillicothe, Illinois, to watch Purdue compete against Yale on Friday at 1 p.m. Luke said Milwaukee has “friendly people, for sure.”

“We’re here to see basketball, but yeah, definitely looking at maybe coming back in the summer, take in a Brewer game, something like that,” he said.

Franklin Mahoney came to Milwaukee to support Yale’s team. He’s the father of Yale guard August Mahoney. Franklin said he’s looking forward to seeing more of the city.

“We are just thrilled and excited to be here in the beautiful city of Milwaukee hoping to advance down the road,” Mahoney said. “We get a tough test with Purdue, but we’re excited about the opportunity.”

The last time the Badgers played on a home court for the NCAA tournament was in 2014, according to Badgers Wire. That season, the No. 2 ranked Badgers made it all the way to the Final Four, losing to Kentucky 73-74.

More than 18,000 people are expected to come to Milwaukee for March Madness this year, according to Lindsey McKee, communications manager with the city’s tourism bureau Visit Milwaukee.

“When we have events like this, national and global events like this, Milwaukee gets the opportunity to be on the world stage,” McKee said. “People can see that this is a great place to host an event as well as come and visit.”

She said March Madness is expected to bring $6.5 million in economic impact.

“The beauty of events like this is that of course you feel the effects while the event is here … We’re seeing it before the event even arrives,” McKee said. “I’m sure we’ll see it even more after the event leaves.”

She noted the “major hit” the hospitality industry in particular has taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a great opportunity for the hospitality industry not only to rebound but also to shine,” McKee said. “What events like this coming back to Milwaukee means is that we can rebound that much more quicker.”

The last time the tournament held games in Milwaukee was 2017. Soon after, Milwaukee was selected to host games for this year’s tournament.

“Groups come here, they have amazing events here, their spectators, visitors, guests all have amazing times here, and then they come back,” McKee said. “This is a perfect example of that.”

Friday’s games at the Fiserv include:

• No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 Yale at 1 p.m.
• No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Virginia Tech at 3:30 p.m.
• No. 6 LSU vs. No. 11 Iowa State at 6:20 p.m.
• No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Colgate at 8:50 p.m.

The winners of those matchups will advance to games on Sunday, also held at the Fiserv Forum.