The Women’s Basketball NCAA Final Four teams and about 30,000 fans invaded Boston from April 2 to 4 for the final round of play at the TD Banknorth Garden — a sold-out event that drew fans from around the world — but all signs show Bostonians have their attention turned elsewhere.
Despite the prestige of the national tournament, there were relatively few indications for Boston residents that the championships were held in the city. Public buses flashed “Welcome NCAA” greetings, but there appeared to be considerably less hype in Boston than for the Men’s Championship games held in Indiana.
“I only saw a couple of banners and one guy wearing a Final Four shirt,” said College of Arts and Sciences freshman Nicholas Farago. “It’s definitely not as big of a deal because the Men’s finals are finishing up and by that time everybody is pretty much ‘basketballed’ out.”
With the Red Sox opening their season Tuesday afternoon and their home opener set for next week, the Women’s Final Four flew under the radar for Bostonians who eagerly anticipate another heated season at Fenway Park.
“My friend told me the championship was here and he doesn’t even live in Boston,” said College of Communication freshman Isabel Muñoz. “I saw no indication that anything special was happening here.”
Although Bostonians might not have taken notice of the tournament, ending when Maryland defeated Duke in an overtime thriller for the 2006 National Championship, the competition brought an influx of profit for businesses in the Boston area, according to Rachael O’Brien of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“The projected figures [are] 38,000 visitors to the city who will spend an estimated $30 million on everything from hotel rooms, to T-shirts, to pub dinners,” O’Brien said.
The Boston Local Organizing Committee organized the tournament, working with representatives from Harvard and Northeastern Universities — which hosted various events that occurred through the tournament — the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, TD Banknorth Garden and the Greater Boston Convention ‘ Visitors Bureau.
In addition to the basketball games, tournament attractions included workshops around the city to promote basketball skills and NCAA commemoration. Special events also included players signing autographs, basketball clinics for children run by the U.S. Women’s Basketball Team and a “chowder rally” at Faneuil Hall Marketplace to celebrate the tournament and basketball tradition, according to the tournament’s website.
Boston, which is hosting the tournament for the first time, was specially chosen as the venue to mark the centennial anniversary of the NCAA because of its close proximity to Springfield, the location of the Basketball Hall of Fame, according to the NCAA website.
The selection process for tournament host cities is competitive, with all the locations for the championship games already selected until 2011, the NCAA website stated.