Your weekend guide to March Madness in Columbia 🏀

ICYMI– Columbia won their bid to host the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament first + second round games during the weekend of March 22-24, 2019; beating out other cities in the Southeast. This is good news for all of S.C., as the tournament is expecting up to 20-25K visitors + a $9M economic return.

If you’re a hoops fan headed to the Capital City for the tourney, here’s what you should know:

• There’s a whole website dedicated to the event– bookmark it here.
• Open practice is Thursday (and it’s free). See the full schedule of games here.
• Game rounds are Friday and Saturday, and tickets are going fast– buy them directly from NCAA.
• Hotel rooms + Airbnbs are expected to fill up right after Selection Sunday. #ProTip: Go ahead and book your digs.
• Gameday shuttles will be free from satellite parking areas at Gamecock Park off of Bluff Rd. and the former Kline Iron & Steel site at the corner of Huger + Gervais. See transportation deets here.
• Lots of restaurants and bars are offering basketball-themed food + drink specials or hosting themed events– like a Taco Tipoff + a craft beer Single Elimination Tournament. See all community events here.
• There’ll be a free Fan Fest celebration Thursday + Friday at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, presented by Segra.

Look for other, non-basketball events happening in the city that weekend– like Arts & Draughts (beer + art), Soda City Suds Week (more craft beer), Commissioner’s Cup BBQ Cook-Off + Festival, Deckle Edge literary festival, a ‘zine’ event + the Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic outdoors show. Truly something for everyone in between games.

This content was created in partnership with Experience Columbia SC.