March Madness is here: Sacramento gears up for fans and fun
Sacramento prepares to host women’s Sweet 16 and Elite 8 March 27-30
TONY THURMOND SAYS THAT HE AND HIS STAFF ARE PREPARED TO JUMP IN AND MEDIATE. WE’RE NOW INTO MARCH MADNESS FOR BOTH MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TOURNAMENTS, AND THE ENERGY IS CONTAGIOUS. BUSINESSES ARE FEELING IT, TOO. KCRA 3’S DENSON. CORTEZ HAS MORE ON HOW MARCH MADNESS IS CREATING A BUZZ BEYOND THE COURT. SHAKING THINGS UP. THAT’S WHAT MARCH MADNESS DOES. YOU NEVER KNOW. THAT’S WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT. IT’S ALL HOW YOU MATCH UP. DOING GREAT IN OUR OUR BRACKET, OUR FAMILY BRACKET. I WAS GOING INTO A MEETING AT WORK AND I WAS FRANTICALLY TRYING TO COMPLETE MY BRACKET BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING MY HUSBAND AND I DO EVERY YEAR. SHAKES UP BRACKETS, EXPECTATIONS, AND IN SACRAMENTO THE ENTIRE CITY. ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS ON GOLDEN 1 ALWAYS BRINGS A LOT OF FOOT TRAFFIC, AND IT’S JUST NO GOOD FOR THIS AREA. THE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S ROUND OF 64 CURRENTLY UNDERWAY. AS THE EXCITEMENT BRINGS FANS AND SPORTS GOERS TO LOCAL BUSINESSES, SACRAMENTO ALWAYS NEED BASKETBALL. WE HAVE BASKETBALL TOWN MAN, SO YOU KNOW ANYTHING WITH HOOP IS COOL AND THE MADNESS IS COMING TO THE 916 NEXT WEEK, WHEN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WILL BE HEADING HERE AT GOLDEN ONE CENTER FROM MARCH 27TH THROUGH THE 30TH, BRINGING TONS OF PEOPLE HERE FOR BUSINESSES ACROSS DOCO. THE LAST TIME THE WOMEN’S NCAA BASKETBALL WAS HERE WAS 2010 AT ARCO ARENA. WE HOSTED A REGIONAL. THEN AT THAT TIME, THERE WERE FOUR REGIONALS DAVID EDIE WITH VISIT SACRAMENTO SAYS HAVING THE WOMEN’S SWEET 16 IN THE ELITE EIGHT WILL PUT THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT ON SACRAMENTO, BRINGING THOSE PEOPLE IN FROM FROM OUT OF TOWN TO TO BE HERE WITH THEIR FAMILIES, TO COME SEE THOSE TEAMS COMPETE AND SPEND THEIR MONEY HERE LOCALLY IS A HUGE IMPACT TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY. AN ESTIMATED IMPACT OF $10 MILLION, ALONG WITH ROUGHLY 13,000 HOTEL ROOM NIGHTS OVER THE COURSE OF THE WEEK. FUN FACT WE ACTUALLY OUR FIRST VACATION TOGETHER WAS TO VEGAS TO WATCH MARCH MADNESS. SO IT’S KIND OF SPECIAL TO US. SO FIVE YEARS AND WE’VE BEEN DOING IT EVERY YEAR SINCE. IT WILL BE AWESOME HAVING THE SWEET 16 HERE. THE WHOLE NATION WILL BE WATCHING THAT. SO YEAH, I THINK THAT’S A, YOU KNOW, AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY. SACRAMENTO AND CORTEZ, KCRA THREE NEWS. THERE WILL BE A F
March Madness is here: Sacramento gears up for fans and fun
Sacramento prepares to host women’s Sweet 16 and Elite 8 March 27-30
Updated: 9:22 PM PDT Mar 20, 2026
March Madness is bringing excitement and economic opportunities to Sacramento as the city prepares to host the women’s Sweet 16 and Elite 8 basketball games at the Golden 1 Center from March 27 through March 30, drawing fans and boosting local businesses. The last time the women’s NCAA basketball tournament was held in Sacramento was in 2010 at Arco Arena, where a regional was hosted. An estimated impact of $10 million is expected, along with roughly 13,000 hotel room nights over the course of the week.David Eadie from Visit Sacramento told KCRA 3, “Bringing those people in from out of town to be here with their families, to see those teams compete and spend their money here locally is a huge impact to the local economy.”Local residents are also excited about the tournament coming to Sacramento. “Fun fact, we actually our first vacation together was to Vegas to watch March Madness. So it’s kind of special to us. So, five years and we’ve been doing it every year since,” Sacramento resident Tarrah Cantu said. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
March Madness is bringing excitement and economic opportunities to Sacramento as the city prepares to host the women’s Sweet 16 and Elite 8 basketball games at the Golden 1 Center from March 27 through March 30, drawing fans and boosting local businesses.
The last time the women’s NCAA basketball tournament was held in Sacramento was in 2010 at Arco Arena, where a regional was hosted. An estimated impact of $10 million is expected, along with roughly 13,000 hotel room nights over the course of the week.
David Eadie from Visit Sacramento told KCRA 3, “Bringing those people in from out of town to be here with their families, to see those teams compete and spend their money here locally is a huge impact to the local economy.”
Local residents are also excited about the tournament coming to Sacramento.
“Fun fact, we actually our first vacation together was to Vegas to watch March Madness. So it’s kind of special to us. So, five years and we’ve been doing it every year since,” Sacramento resident Tarrah Cantu said.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel