Preparations underway at BMO Harris Bradley Center for NCAA
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- NCAA March Madness basketball is transforming the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Since the Bucks game wrapped up on Sunday, crews have been working 24/7 to get everything ready before the court opens for Wednesday's first practices.
"This really is a bigger than life event, globally televised, millions of viewers," said BMO Harris Bradley Center President Steve Costello.
All of the equipment needs to meet NCAA requirements, from the floor that was shipped in, to the basketball hoops.
"The basket hoops again have to meet a certain standard so that they play the same way in every building, the tension on the hoops, how the ball responds to the backboard," said Costello.
The BMO Harris Bradley Center also has to feed its expected 18,000 guests, so officials created a whole new menu.
They added smoothies, as they're not allowed to sell alcohol in all of the areas of the arena, along with pasta, gyros, tacos, and turkey.
"We really wanted to appeal to the masses so that`s why we did some of the different Mexican, and some of the different Asian, and Greek food that we`ll be offering," said BMO Harris Bradley Center Executive Chef David Zakroczymski.
Then came the preparations for the 250 members of the media attending.
A restaurant and bar space was turned into a media room, with increased wi-fi and power capabilities.
A sound proof system was also built to block the noise of the ongoing games during interviews.
"We put up a lead wall, which reflects the sound from the arena bowl back into the arena bowl and then the hollow between the doors and that wall we filled with sound proof materials," said BMO Harris Bradley Center Director of Operations Greg Peterson.
The final touches will be made until the teams hit the court.
It is free to watch the opening practices at the BMO Harris Bradley Center throughout the day on Wednesday.
The games will begin on Thursday with Wisconsin kicking things off by taking on American at 11:40 am.