Basketball fans flock from across the globe for Final Four action
PHOENIX - Places all over the Valley are preparing for the Final Four in Glendale.
Hance Park, Old Town Scottsdale and Westgate in Glendale all have special events going on for the end of the college basketball season, taking place at State Farm Stadium.
The host committee party is even making sure basketball fans who fly into Sky Harbor have a good time the moment they land.
While the four teams - Uconn, Purdue, Alabama and North Carolina State - are mostly based on the East Coast, the event is attracting fans from across the world.
"College basketball, you guys are all mad for it over here! So we wanted to see what the environment was like," said Theo, a basketball fan from Australia who is in town for the games.
"We’re basketball fans, so we came here for the Final Four! We went to the Phoenix (Suns) game last night and that was an awesome, big bucket list for us from Australia," said Sharv.
Other fans are here to enjoy the weather. A couple from UConn noted there was snow on the ground from where they took off. Another fan is here from Alaska where the high today was 37 degrees.
After flight delay, defending champion UConn arrives in Arizona for Final Four in middle of night
Defending national champion UConn finally touched down in Arizona for the Final Four at 3:15 a.m. MST on Thursday after a long delay and a red-eye flight.
"It’s gorgeous!" Scott Rossignol, a Huskies fan exclaimed. "Much better than the 30-degree snow that I left this morning! So super excited to have a good weekend here."
"Every March gets pretty exciting up in Connecticut. It’s one of the only sports we have up there with no professional teams, so we die for our huskies and bleed blue."
Rusty Osborn, a basketball coach from Alaska told FOX 10 he is here for the love of the game.
"The emotions come out when you watch college basketball at this level," he said.
"Just the excitement in the air that all the young people get to experience, you can read it on their faces, it’s just fun to watch."
Crews have been setting the stage at Hance Park for musical performances.
Big hoops and floating basketballs decorate the Old Town Waterfront and a giant bracket sits outside the convention center.
The first two games will be at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Saturday with the championship game on Monday.