A frigid first night in March in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus police were ready for mischief and madness in the streets on Friday when the NCAA basketball tournament kicked off at Nationwide Arena.

“As soon as Arnold’s work is complete, we are fully committed to preparing for the next event,” Sergeant said. Matt Weekley works with the team planning the security of the special event. “You’re looking at staffing levels. You’re looking at the number of people coming in. You’re looking at the potential threat associated with an event of that nature,” he explained.

Municipal snowplows and yellow barricades line the entire Nationwide Arena. Barriers exist not only to protect fans entering and exiting the game, but also to keep the streets clean for those who use DORA. DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) is where an adult can drink alcohol outside the stadium up to three hours before his game.

But the frigid temperatures on St. Patrick’s Day kept most people indoors.

“With the weather, it’s kind of a game changer for us, so with what we originally had, we’ll probably get some cops off the streets a little earlier than normal,” said Weekly.

Visitors from all over the country came to Columbus to watch the game, even though the home team missed the tournament. Others dealt a devastating blow to Brackett. No. 1 seed Purdue lost to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickenson..

Greg Niggle, who won the longest perfect bracket in history, chose Purdue for one bracket this year, with Houston and Miami winning the other two. The last time Columbus hosted his 2019 March His Madness, Niggle made history by choosing his first 49 games right and making every game successful in his first two rounds of the tournament. I was.

But this year, he’s just playing games with friends at the Keystone Pub in the Lewis Center.

“I think college basketball is a great environment to watch. It’s fun to watch at home, but this is even better,” Niggle said.

Nigl likes that Columbus still pushes to host big events like the NCAA Tournament.

“When Big 10 comes to town and becomes March Madness, it doesn’t get any better than that. It’s the best sport,” Niggle said.

The games continue Saturday with the Women’s NCAA Tournament at the Schottenstein Center. Here, No. 3 seed Ohio State will face James Madison in his game at home at 1:30 p.m., and at 4 p.m. he will face UNC vs. St. Johns. Continue at the Nationwide Arena.