- The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has returned to Omaha for the first time since 2015
- Fans from out of state gathered to watch their favorite teams play
- Watch to learn more about how sporting event tourism is helping out Omaha businesses
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Brackets and baskets it's all part of the March Madness fun, Thursday the madness returned to Omaha for the first time since 2015. College basketball fans have traveled from far and wide to cheer on their favorite teams and enjoy everything Downtown Omaha has to offer!
"I'm so excited, this is what you live for in March — is to be here in this tournament," said Morgan Domask.
Domask and and her sister spent the afternoon at the Matt Bar and Grille, cheering on their brother Marcus who plays for Illinois.
The Matt is a hot spot for sporting events like this one. Peter Violi has been managing the bar and grille since it opened in 2007, so he's met a lot of college basketball fans.
"It's the cherry on top for the whole year," said Violi.
And Violi says he also saw how the tournament cancellation in 2020 hurt businesses in the neighborhood.
"The hotels, the different restaurants down here all, I mean there's a lot of developments... it's a huge impact on the whole city I mean everyone was affected by that," said Violi.
Violi says business from large events are make or break for new businesses. Visit Omaha Executive Directer Deborah Ward provided more context on the impact of the tournament.
"People gotta go stay in hotels, they've gotta eat. They're gonna go enjoy a beer or two or three especially, when it comes to basketball, those are businesses they are visiting and spending their money here," said Ward.
Their goal for the weekend is to connect tourists with places to eat, stay, and play.
"We were at the Twisted Fork for dinner last night it's been great, were staying at an AirBnB and we plan to hit up a lot of breweries tomorrow," said Domask.
Ward says she expects $7 million of revenue to come to Omaha from this year's March Madness Tournament.
