Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Final preparations are underway in Downtown Buffalo, as the NCAA men's basketball tournament is set to make its return to KeyBank Center in 2022 for the first time in five years.
The tournament opens on Thursday with four games on the docket as part of the First Round of competition. Then on Saturday, the winners of each game will face off in their respective region of the tournament in the Round of 32.
It is expected that a large number of people will be in the Western New York region for the NCAA Tournament, as college basketball fans, family, and others will gather to root for their team and take in the excitement that comes with March Madness.
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With the largest event taking place in Downtown Buffalo since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, there will likely be a lot of commotion around the area of KeyBank Center. People will be flocking in-and-out of the area, whether they find parking and walk, or they manage to take an Uber or Lyft ride around the city.
However, whenever a big event like the NCAA Tournament finds its way to Buffalo, that may create some parking issues for local streets and lots.
"We haven't recently spoken to any of the private lot owners. Obviously, over the years, we have spoken to private lot owners about pricing and making sure that pricing is fair and reasonable. There are a number of public options, and we're going to make those options known to the basketball fans and the other visitors that are coming into our city," said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown at a press conference on Tuesday at KeyBank Center. "There should be plenty of affordable parking options throughout the City of Buffalo. Ride sharing is going to be another big benefit and boost to all the visitors coming into our city. So we're not anticipating any challenges with parking, but we'll certainly be partnering with the organizers of the NCAA Tournament and some of the other great events that will be taking place in the city this weekend."
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While parking, at times, can get a bit messy right by the arena with larger events, Mayor Brown says some streets in Downtown Buffalo that have been renovated over the years will offer greater availability for parking, especially on Main Street. That includes some sections that are not open that were not available the last time the tournament was in Buffalo in 2017.
Mayor Brown also pointed out that some ramps around the city have re-opened since the pandemic and are functioning once again.
Like many helping to organize the tournament and other events coinciding with the tournament, Mayor Brown is expecting a big weekend for the community.
One of those organizers who is expecting a busy weekend for the City of Buffalo and the rest of Western New York is Patrick Kaler, President and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara. He says he has been in communication with Buffalo Civic Auto Ramps leading up to this weekend, and says they are offering deals that will be friendly for anyone coming to the city.
"If you bring your car in, at least, before five o'clock on Thursday, it's $2 an hour with a $9 max," Kaler said on Tuesday at the arena. "The Adam Ramp is just a few blocks away, and again, you're parking in a very safe, secure location. The other good news is, because it's a little bit further away, you're not going to have to deal with congestion of everybody trying to leave at the end of the night, as well. It's going to be beautiful weather, so just walk to the Adam Ramp, walk to some of the surface lots as well that are a little bit further away from the actual core of the arena."
While many will likely take advantage of the parking availability around the arena, some people will take advantage of utilizing Uber or Lyft to get safely to KeyBank Center, or commute elsewhere around Downtown Buffalo.
"Ride sharing will make mobility a lot easier for this tournament," Mayor Brown said. "People will be able to call the different ride sharing companies and grab a lunch, grab a drink, they'll be able to go to different parts of the city easily and quickly. The longest commute in the city of Buffalo from one end of the city to the other is 20 minutes max, so ridesharing will make the mobility very easy for this tournament."
However, ride sharing availability has not rebounded well since the days before COVID-19, and when you add in the current issues relating to rising gas prices, some people may find it harder to easily access Uber or Lyft at a fair and decent price.
While that may be the case for some longer trips around the city, Kaler believes that ride share will still be one of the main components of the overall transportation mechanism currently available in Buffalo.
"I think people that typically use ride share, they're prepared for the cost. They know that they're going to have to plan early, as well. But it's also going to be a great weekend with weather," Kaler said. "People can take the metro in, they can park downtown, walk to the arena, as well. So it's going to be many modes of transportation that we're going to be encouraging people to use, even using many of the parking lots, as well as the ramps downtown to get themselves down to the arena. I think as long as people plan and have patience, they'll still have a great time."