MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee was buzzing Thursday with St. Patrick's Day celebrations and March Madness excitement.
All over the city, restaurants, bars and patios were full of family and friends.
"The weather's great," said Chris Morgan. "We've been here a little bit, just chilling at the beer garden, having a couple beers with our friends, family our dog. We're having a good time."
At Fiserv Forum, basketball fans wandered the plaza. Arman Kahn and his father, Farhan, were watching the Badgers practice.
"We got to see them, hang out, we got to see the players, cheer them on," Arman said. "And hopefully will get us to the Sweet Sixteen and beyond."
The father and son are from Shorewood both agreed it's exciting to have part of the NCAA Tournament so close to home.
"The last time we were in the stadium was the Bucks game three of the finals," Arman said. "So it's good to be back."
Antonio Johnson came to Deer District to see what it was like on the eve of March Madness.
"It is cool. I grew up a season ticket holder, so my dad is going to the game through his job, I'm kind of jealous of that," Johnson said.
Our partners at the Milwaukee Business Journal estimate the tournament could bring in more than 18,000 people and an economic impact of $6.5 million.
Plenty of people are in from out of town, including the Alexander family, who is on spring break and wanted to explore Milwaukee. One of their stops includes the Bobblehead Museum.
"It's nice. With COVID and all that, I haven't really been able to go anywhere," said Maxwell Alexander. "It's nice to be able to get out and go around and feel confident enough to do that."
