Downtown will soon be full of basketball action as the NCAA Men’s Final Four returns to Atlanta, March 30-April 2. The excitement begins on Friday afternoon with open practice at the Georgia Dome from noon to 4 p.m. Each team is allotted one hour of practice time. Open practice is free and open to the public so everyone is invited to witness the energy out on the court. Parking during open practice is free beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Dome’s Blue and Yellow lots. The National Semifinal games are Saturday at the Dome and everything leads up to the National Championship game on Monday.
Excitement won’t just abound in the Dome though! March 30-April 2 head to the Georgia World Congress Center for NCAA Hoop City. Fans of all ages can run, jump, shoot and play until the final buzzer! This interactive event will include competitions, b-ball clinics, prizes, autograph sessions with NCAA coaches and great players of the past, surprise appearances and much more. Tickets cost $7 for ages 12 and over, $5 for ages 3-11 and free for 2 and under. Hoop City takes place in Building A of the Georgia World Congress Center.
At Georgia Tech, Georgia State and Morehouse College, boys and girls ages 10 to 16 can take advantage of free basketball clinics from the Youth Education through Sports (YES) Program. These clinics will take place on Saturday, March 31 and will be taught by collegiate basketball coaches and student-athletes. Pre-registration is required for the YES Clinics. www.yesclinics.com
On Sunday, April 1, thousands of young basketball fans will have the opportunity to dribble through the streets of downtown Atlanta for the Dome Dribble to Hoop City. On-site registration begins at 10:30 a.m. on the International Plaza right outside the Georgia World Congress Center and Georgia Dome on Andrew Young International Boulevard. The first 3,000 participants under the age of 18 to register will receive a free basketball and T-shirt, and participants wearing the Dome Dribble T-shirt will receive free admission to NCAA Hoop City at the Georgia World Congress Center.
In addition to all the basketball excitement, Centennial Olympic Park will be full of free entertainment throughout the weekend serving as the epicenter of Final Four activity, called The Big Dance. Even if you don’t have a ticket to the game you can catch all the action via the big screen broadcast in the Park. Many other activities will take place in the Park as well, including a Habitat for Humanity build and a multitude of live entertainment. Because of these special events, the Park will not be open to the public each day until the beginning of the first Final Four activity for that day.
On Friday, March 30 Habitat for Humanity and a team of student-athletes and volunteers will construct two house frames on the Game Plaza of the Park. The building will take place all day Friday and the houses will be on display throughout Saturday’s festivities. The house frames will then be relocated within metro Atlanta and donated to local families. Friday night the Park will have live entertainment from 6-9:45 p.m., culminating with a fireworks display at 9:45 p.m. The musical acts for Friday night will be announced in the coming week so check online for this updated information.
On Saturday March 31, be a part of the excitement by running in the NCAA Road to the Final Four 5K. Registration is at 7 a.m. and the race begins at 8 a.m. The race will begin and end at Centennial Olympic Park, and all registrants will be eligible to win tickets to the 2007 NCAA Men’s Final Four semifinal or final games. Participants will also receive an event T-shirt and complimentary admission to NCAA Hoop City at the Georgia World Congress Center. The registration fee is $18 online or postmarked by March 24, and after March 24th, competitors will only be able to register online or at the race for $25.
Additional activities and entertainment at the Park on Saturday will begin at 10 a.m. with a special “Salute to the Troops” and then continues with musical performances by Grammy Award-winning musician Ludacris with special guest Bobby Valentino, So So Def Recordings artist Johnta Austin and popular alternative rock band LIVE. At 3 p.m. the World’s Largest Pep Rally takes over the Centennial Olympic Park stage. The day will be punctuated by a colorful balloon release, as well as a special Air Force flyover. The Park broadcast of the semifinals will begin at 6 p.m. and continues until midnight.
On Sunday, The Big Dance at Centennial Olympic Park will include MyCokeFest, a day-long music festival which will be hosted by Atlanta-native and host of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest. The event headlines with Grammy Award-winning rockers Maroon 5 and also features multi-platinum rapper LL Cool J, alternative rockers Chevelle, power pop band Hellogoodbye and platinum-selling country music duo, Atlanta's own Sugarland. Gates open at noon on Sunday for MyCokeFest and the music continues until 9 p.m.
On Monday, entertainment on the stage begins at 5 p.m. when fans can enjoy the sounds of Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Marc Cohn and two-time Grammy-nominated Robert Randolph and the Family Band. At 9 p.m., the downtown broadcast of the Championship Game begins.
All of downtown will be full of fans during the days of Final Four, March 30-April 2. Downtown restaurants will serve as official fan gathering spots. Azio Downtown will host fans of the Midwest Region team, Dailey's will host the West Region, Max Lager's American Grill & Brewery will be home to fans of the East Region and Pittypat's Porch will host fans of the South Region team. Meet up with fans from your favored region at one of these downtown establishments.
Enjoy all the Final Four activities and make it a weekend downtown! For additional information about the NCAA Final Four and details about all of the events, please visit http://www.atlanta.net/finalfour
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