March Madness Excitement Could Bring $6M To Milwaukee

This year marks the seventh time Milwaukee is hosting the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, and the economic impact could be a big win for the city.

The last time Milwaukee hosted tournament games was in 2014, and the economic impact of those games was $4.6 million, according to Visit Milwaukee. This year, the fact that four of the eight schools playing in Milwaukee are within a six-hour drive should lead to a 30 percent increase in revenue, said Kristin Settle, director of communications at Visit Milwaukee.

“We estimate the tournament will have a $6 million economic impact on the city,” she said. “That’s everything from staying in hotels to spending money at restaurants, bars and attractions.”

A total of six games will be played at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Thursday and Saturday, and all games are sold out, Settle said.

“That’s 55,000 people that we’re going to be able to showcase Milwaukee to,” she said. “That’s in addition to all those fans who are traveling without tickets who are just going to hang out at local watering holes and cheer on their team.”

Settle said she expects the city to be able to handle the influx in people for the festivities. She said hotel occupancy is up and Milwaukee being walkable will help with traffic concerns. Additional revenue will also come from St. Patrick’s Day events Friday.

The University of Minnesota, Middle Tennessee State University, Butler University, Winthrop University, Iowa State University, University of Vermont, University of Nevada and Purdue University play in Milwaukee.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers men’s team plays Virginia Tech at 8:40 p.m. central time Thursday. The game will air on CBS. Marquette University’s Golden Eagles play the University of South Carolina at 8:50 p.m. central time Friday. The game will air on TBS.