WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |SEC men's basketball tournament brings crowds downtown

SEC men's basketball tournament brings crowds downtown

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If you are heading downtown this weekend, expect delays, detours and lots of traffic.

With construction for the new convention center and the SEC men's basketball tournament in town, the downtown area will be filled with construction workers and visitors.

The SEC tournament starts Thursday, March 11 and lasts through Sunday, March 14, but there were already a lot of fans in town Wednesday taking in the sights and enjoying the atmosphere.

Kentucky fan Bill Brown flew across the country for the chance to see the Wildcats in the tournament.

"I came from Folsom, California, just outside of Sacramento," he told News 2.

Even though tickets are going for a high price, none of the Kentucky fans who spoke with News 2 were willing to sell them.

"It's pretty close to a religion," said Brown.  "I mean, once you've seen it and live it, you get hooked on it."

Silas Dean told News 2 he'd been looking for tickets for the past few weeks.

"I went online and tried to get tickets, but they're not to be had," he said.

Ticket or not, there are plenty of other distractions to keep fans busy until game time.

"We stopped at a restaurant and there were a bunch of ladies there and I said, 'Girls do you have tickets?'  They said, 'No we're just going down for the party.'   That's what they're coming for, the atmosphere," said one Kentucky fan. 

Kentucky's Wildcats are the hottest ticket in the tournament, with tickets for sale on the street for anywhere from $300 to $5000.

Vendors say people looking to buy tickets should make sure the person they're buying from has a permit to sell.

While some fans were out on Lower Broadway Wednesday, Vivian Bomboy, manager at Bailey's believes Thursday will be much busier.

"Not quite yet, everybody's coming in, everybody's getting situated and everything, but this weekend we're going to be pretty busy," she said

If you are headed downtown this weekend, you may want to leave a little extra time to find parking because the main parking lots behind the Bridgestone Arena on Demonbreun Street are closed for construction.

Beginning Thursday, LP Field with have $5 parking through Sunday for tournament.

A free shuttle to and from the arena will be provided, as well.

For more information on parking at LP Field and taking the shuttle, visit the Nashville Sports Council's Web site at NashvilleSports.com.

Tip-off for the first SEC tournament game is Thursday at 12 Noon, Central Time.  Thursday's games are as follows:

• 12 p.m. – South Carolina vs. Alabama
• 2:15 p.m. – LSU vs. Tennessee
• 6:30 p.m. – Auburn vs. Florida
• 8:45 p.m. – Georgia vs. Arkansas

Click here for the complete schedule.