Tulsa City Leaders Map Out Plan For NCAA Men's Basketball Championship

Laura Moss, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma – Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett announced more plans Tuesday for getting people around town and promoting Tulsa during the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship to be held in Tulsa later this month.

The second and third rounds of the tournament will be held at the BOK Center March 18-20, 2011.

2/21/2011 Related Story: Final Preparations For NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Underway In Downtown Tulsa

"We get to show off Tulsa to the world, it's a pretty exciting thing," Blake Ewing, a downtown business owner, said.

Downtown business owner Blake Ewing said his bars and restaurants won't have to do much promoting come March 18, 2011.

"We're spending more of our energy now instead of trying to figure out how to promote. We're trying to figure out how to handle the crowd so it's a great problem to have and we're excited to tackle it," he said.

City leaders met Tuesday to update their planning progress. Transportation and signage are finalized.

Maps and stops will be on the city website, but officials say they want you to be a big help to our city's guests.

"People that are lost, or they look lost, we've all seen those folks, stop and help them give them directions," Ray Hoyt, with the Tulsa Sports Commission, said.

City officials say they will offer rides all weekend to and from the BOK center and to hot spots around the city.

"We feel like it needs to be done so that we can get the fans from BOK down through the downtown district areas and that entertainment areas," Hoyt said.

To make sure our home puts its best foot forward, the planning committee is asking you to volunteer to pick up trash around town.

"Tulsa overall is a beautiful community anyway, it's just more about making it over the top for our guests," Hoyt said.

So far, University of Tulsa leaders say we're 6,000 tickets away from selling out the tournament.

They said as soon as the teams are selected there won't be an empty seat at the BOK Center.

Signs are already up here around the BOK Center. More signs and logos will arrive later this week to the Chamber of Commerce.

City workers say they will start decorating the town at the beginning of next week.