BUFFALO, N.Y. — A little ditty from the classic film "The Wizard of Oz" may not have much to do with basketball.
But it may emblematic of the return of a large scale event welcoming visitors from across the country to Buffalo as the region and the nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
You're out of the woods
You're out of the dark
You're out of the night
Step into the sun
Step into the light
Mike Even, Vice President at Visit Buffalo Niagara, said the analogy was one he could concur with.
"This is sort of a turning point for us ... this is it. We are welcoming the world to Buffalo again," Even said.
Welcome back
Buffalo has hosted portions of the NCAA basketball tournament seven times, the last time being in 2017. The pandemic forced the cancellation of the entire event in 2020.
In 2021 the games resumed, but in largely empty arenas due to COVID-driven capacity restrictions. In addition, all of the games were held at sites in a single state: Indiana, meaning all the cities that were scheduled to host after putting in bids years in advance lost out on not only the excitement, but the expected economic benefits as well.
Buffalo was not a host site in either of those years.
So, it is with good fortune, Even believes, that Buffalo will be hosting in a year when it can welcome a return of visitors from all corners, without restriction.
He and other members of the agency also noted that there are several more things that visitors will be able to avail themselves to that were not available just five years ago.
"Let's start with ride-sharing," Pete Harvey of the Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission said. "If you remember back in 2017, it was before Uber and Lyft could even operate in this area."
The Labatt Brew House and the Hofbräuhaus represent two large drinking and eating establishments within a short walk of KeyBank Center that did not exist in 2017.
As well, there are new attractions for visitors to enjoy at Canalside, including the Carousel, which will be open during the weekend of the tournament, the Explore and More Children's Museum, and the Ice at Canalside, which will offer skating if the temperatures don't soar.
The tournament comes at the end of the first winter where Niagara Falls State Park welcomed visitors to its Cave of the Winds tour to the bottom of the Niagara Gorge to see the extraordinary ice buildup at the base of Bridal Veil Falls. That attraction had never opened in the past until well into the spring, after the tournament had long passed.
"I think it's really cool to have that attraction available this year to our visitors," Harvey said.
Community ambassadors will return downtown to direct visitors, once again carrying their orange "Ask Me" signs that were a hallmark of the effort to put Buffalo's best foot forward in 2017.
However, due to lingering COVID concerns, they won't hand literature and maps, as had been customary. Instead, each of their signs will have a QR Code, which visitors can use their phones to scan to get the same information.
Tourney to Return in 2026
Harvey also confirmed on Thursday that the tournament is coming back to Buffalo in the future.
"We put another bid and we will host this event again in 2026 so we're very excited about that," he said.