INDIANAPOLIS — NCAA vice president JoAnn Scott does not need to speculate on the impact of Purdue men’s basketball fans in the Final Four.
She saw it in person, two years ago and 1,800 miles from Mackey Arena. Boilermaker fans flocked to the Phoenix area for a long-awaited Final Four experience.
“We couldn’t print enough Purdue gear,” Scott said Tuesday at the Tip-Off, a Final Four preview event at the Indiana Roof Ballroom.
Cities measure the financial impact of the Final Four in hotel, restaurant and transportation revenue. One might assume a local team making the Final Four — such as when Butler reached the championship game in Indianapolis in 2010 — would cut into some of those revenue streams. Central Indiana fans can sleep in their own beds and might only need one meal in the city, rather than multiple throughout the day.
Scott, though, expects the opposite if potential preseason No. 1 Purdue or some other local program makes a run to Lucas Oil Stadium in April. The logic applies to any program with a large fanbase close to the venue.
“It’s actually more people, because you can drive it,” Scott said. “We were in Houston in ’23, and Houston was ranked No. 1. So public safety was like, ‘Oh my gosh, if Houston gets in, what are we going to do? The streets are going to be packed.’
“… It will bring people, because they will come to celebrate. Call it the alumni weekend, to celebrate with all their friends.”
Indianapolis last hosted the Final Four in 2021, when the entire tournament was held in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has not held an open Final Four experience since 2015.
The fan experience downtown will be quite different than in past years.
NCAA officials laid out some of the changes Tuesday. In additional to the traditional Fan Fest at the Convention Center, other events include:
- Final Four Tip-Off Tailgate on Georgia Street. Running Friday through Monday with free watch parties for the men’s and women’s Final Four games and giveaways, basketball-themed activities, food and drinks.
- March Madness Music Festival, Friday and Saturday at the American Legion Mall.
- Final Four Dribble on Saturday, where young contestants dribble through a one-mile course through downtown Indy.
The other unique aspect of Indy’s 2026 Final Four will be the wall-to-wall basketball experience. In addition to Saturday’s semifinals and Monday’s championship, the city is hosting three other levels of college championships.
The experience begins Thursday night with the NIT semifinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Friday will feature open team practices for the Final Four teams and the NABC College All-Star game. Sunday, fans can watch the Division II, Division III and NIT championships at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a $30 all-inclusive come-and-go ticket.
This is the second time the NCAA hosted championships for all three divisions in the same city. Atlanta was the first, in 2013, and was scheduled to do it again in 2020 before the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic. Both cities offer a second viable arena within close proximity of each other.
“One of the things that makes Indianapolis such a great city for this event is the walkability and accessibility,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of basketball. “And that way you can engage in so many different events around the weekend.”
Purdue fans are already daring to dream what a Final Four run down Interstate 65 might look like. The NCAA is banking on plenty of them to show up even if they can’t get into the games.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis 2026 Final Four offering new events, fan experiences
