March Madness is making a stop in Boston this week.
Usually, this is a professional sports town, but all bets are off with one of the biggest tournaments in college sports taking center stage here at TD Garden.
College basketball will dominate Boston sports in the days ahead, with players warming up on Wednesday afternoon for third round of March Madness.
Members of The Fighting Ilini Hoops Band are in town for the Sweet Sixteen. Their squad -- Illinois -- takes on Iowa State in the second game on Thursday. The first pits UConn against San Diego State, a rematch of last year's national championship game.
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"I think you’re going to see a lot of UConn people here," March Madness fan Damon Cerrone said. "I think this proximity, UConn being the number one seed, I think it could be hopping."
"I'm super excited to play in Boston," said Alex Karaban, a Southborough resident who plays for UConn.
The three days of games from Thursday-Saturday are expected to generate as much as $17 million in economic impact, with spending on things like hotels and restaurants.
Plus, Boston will be featured on TVs in living rooms around the country during the games.
”So that’s always great to get our name recognition out there and reaffirm our reputation as a great sports destination," said Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of Meet Boston, formerly the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.
At Half Time Pizza across the street from the Garden, the tournament games will bring in more people and more revenue. But the success of the Celtics and Bruins has already made this a pretty good year.
"You know you get a good win for a Bruins game and the crowd's fired up," said Matt Pasquale of Half Time Pizza. "They come out happy, hungry."
UConn is the number one seed and less than a two-hour drive from North Station, making them a favorite beyond that top seed.
