NCAA Tournament Returns To Atlanta. Here’s What To Expect
The NCAA men’s South Region tournament games will take place at Philips Arena and are scheduled to begin Thursday at 7:07 p.m. with the game between Loyola and Nevada.
Donnell Suggs / WABE
The Loyola University Chicago Ramblers got a small taste of what Atlanta traffic during a special sporting event can be like when the team bus got lost en route to a practice session Wednesday morning.
Ramblers head coach Porter Moser wasn’t too happy about the fact that his team was late for a scheduled event.
“We were supposed to get an escort. We didn’t, and no one knew how to get here,” Moser said. “Our bus driver didn’t know, and it took 30, 40 minutes to get here, but you overcome. You got to put it behind you and overcome.”
The same could be said for Atlantans and visitors to the city on Thursday night and Saturday evening when fans from the University of Kentucky, Kansas State University, the University of Nevada and Loyola arrive to take part in the pageantry and basketball hysteria that is the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
There will be thousands of people in the city who may also get lost attempting to make their way down Philips Drive, Olympic Park Drive, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive S.W. and Marietta Street on their way to watch the games.
The best way locals can avoid the coming traffic — both foot and automobile — is by knowing as much as they can about the event.
The NCAA men’s South Region tournament games will take place at Philips Arena (on 1 Philips Drive)and are scheduled to begin Thursday at 7:07 p.m. with the game between Loyola and Nevada. The nightcap between Kansas State and Kentucky will begin following the conclusion of the first game.
With no public events scheduled until two hours before tip-off, residents and guests alike can get around the city and avoid traffic on MARTA. As of Wednesday, there have been no reports of route delays to the Five Points and Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center stations, both of which are best for getting to and from the game.
Also, the intersection of Philips Drive and Marietta Street is expected to have busy foot traffic and a heavy law enforcement presence directing traffic after 5 p.m. There are regularly reported traffic delays of up to a half-hour during Atlanta Hawks game nights, and this tournament regional will have thousands of fans in town for more than just the games. There are fan fests and yet-to-be-announced interactive activities scheduled during both nights.
Prior to this, the city of Atlanta hosted the 2013 Final Four at the Georgia Dome. Atlanta will host the 2020 Final Four at Mercedes-Benz Stadium next door to Philips and the Georgia World Congress Center.
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