March Madness Teams Headed to Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — March Madness is upon us once again. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off this week and makes a return to Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake is one of eight cities hosting first- and second-round games. And these games have a huge impact for the city.

Visit Salt Lake says about 26,000 people will visit for the games, with an estimated 13,000 hotel rooms being booked and visitor spending at more than $5.5 million just this weekend.

Let’s break down who will be playing here and when.

• (12) New Mexico State vs. (5) Auburn begins action at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. local time
• (13) Northeastern vs. (4) Kansas follows after the conclusion of the first game.
• (16) Prairie View/Fairleigh Dickinson vs. (1) Gonzaga tips off at 7:27 p.m. to kick off the night session on Thursday.
• (9) Baylor vs. (8) Syracuse begins after the conclusion of the first game of the night session.

The second round continues Saturday.

What’s even bigger than the visitors and the spending — millions of dollars worth of promotional advertising, with the city getting national television exposure in a big weekend of sports viewing.