LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The area around Rupp Arena was teeming with basketball fans by 9:30 a.m. Louisville and Creighton were first up at noon, and the fans, and businesses they were visiting, were ready for the NCAA Tournament to tip off.
“This is like a UK basketball game times four, because you have four in the day,” said Hyatt Regency General Manager, Ron Van-Haaren. The hotel is attached to the arena and Van-Haaren wasn’t disappointed when the Lexington regional teams were unveiled on Sunday.
“The nice thing is, if you get a few good teams, or it’s drivable, or they’re excited their team made the bracket, that's when you see the fans,” Van- Haaren added.
Given his hotel’s proximity to Rupp Arena, it was tailor-made for an event like this, along with LexLive across the street. The multi-faceted entertainment venue was already serving customers shortly after opening at 10 a.m.
Louisville’s fans don’t necessarily need the hotel rooms, but they will be spending money at bars and restaurants and parking lots.
“My son is a UK fan, so I brought him here once, and I said, ‘boy, I’ll never be back here,’” Louisville fan, Mark Daves joked.
The joke is on Mark as Louisville played the first game of the day and would be back at Rupp on Saturday for a matchup with the Auburn/Alabama State winner.
Only two of the eight teams that started here will move on to play next week. Those results won’t matter to Van-Haaren because he knows the real winner of this week.
“It’s a great event to have, and it’s an opportunity for our hotel, and the other hotels, to showcase Lexington to the world and the rest of the United States to bring more business here, so we want to do a good job,” Van-Haaren said.
Further, the high school boys Sweet 16, which will be in town next weekend, followed by the start of Keeneland’s Spring Meet the week after that, which both figure to keep business booming.
