RedScare Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Thought I'd start up a topic for those who are going to the Final Four or any of the events and parties. I'm getting ready to head downtown to see how Discovery Green looks for the Big Dance. Anyone else going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 ESPN recording next to Transco and waterwall: http://espn.go.com/v...clip?id=6283540 Reliant in the background http://espn.go.com/v...clip?id=6278474 http://www.cbssports...reliant-stadium Every year when I arrive at the Final Four city, I try to get the flavor of the place on the bus ride from the airport to the hotel. One of my observations after arriving in Houston is that it's a good city to get sick in. There seems to be a hospital or medical center on every block. Maybe that's why there are so many gun and weapon stores: people feel that if they accidentally shoot themselves, it's no big deal. There's a gun wound specialist just around the corner.I saw a great billboard on the way to the hotel. It was an ad for a lawyer whose phone number is 713 - WASN'T ME. I'm not kidding. After seeing this, I kept hoping the next billboard would be from the prosecutor's office with the phone number 1-800-OH YES IT WAS. Unfortunately, the second billboard didn't pop up. It shouldn't have surprised me. I mean, what are the odds that those two billboards would be on the same street? I can't do the math and answer that question, but I'm pretty sure the odds of that happening are a lot smaller than the odds of seeing these four teams play this weekend. http://www.cbssports...nd-getting-sick http://www.washingto...ss=rss_homepage http://www.onenewsnow.com/AP/Search/Sports/Default.aspx?id=1322378 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 Went to Discovery Green last night. Sublime was the headline band. Didn't take any pics, but they have a massive stage set up directly in front of the GRB, allowing the crowd to form on the street and on the massive grassy area. It was packed all the way to the promenade. Even so, the promenade and the beer and food booths were accessible, and the lines were not too long. Hard to estimate crowds in the dark, but given the size of the concert area, I'd guess well in excess of 20,000 people there. Parking in lots closest to DG are expensive. However, I found a free street space within 4 blocks of DG. There appears to be better chances to park north of DG, near Minute Maid Park.Hilton Americas is the Coaches' hotel. Lots of coaches and athletes in there. The bar scene was very interesting, as were some of the conversations overheard. Think basketball war stories. Overall, great people watching time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Saw Uconn practicing Friday at Rice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwatra Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 i also hit up DG on friday. Good crowd and I was glad to see lots of open space as well so you could get away from it and grab a beer without waiting an hour. I have a pic on my phone but its not great and I'm too lazy to put it up anywhere. I heard Saturday afternoon was really crowded there though i didn't go. I was hoping they would have a viewing party there tonight for the finals but it doesn't look like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brijonmang Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I was at the games Saturday night and got plenty of pictures with my phone, I'll post them up in a little bit when I have a few free minutes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Gig'em Lady Aggies... Hell of a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I heard the Butler cheerleaders got to use the downtown Y for their practices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 The Butler basketball team shot like a Y-League youth team.What a terribly boring game with almost no energy in the crowd. It's amazing to think that UConn reached the Fiesta Bowl, Men's Final Four, and Women's Final Four because their fan support is terrible. Butler students outdrew UConn at a 3 to 1 pace despite UConn having 15,000 more students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I heard the Butler cheerleaders got to use the downtown Y for their practices.this is information that would have been useful last week :*( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 The Butler basketball team shot like a Y-League youth team. What a terribly boring game with almost no energy in the crowd. It's amazing to think that UConn reached the Fiesta Bowl, Men's Final Four, and Women's Final Four because their fan support is terrible. Butler students outdrew UConn at a 3 to 1 pace despite UConn having 15,000 more students. Some lucky UH students (including Case Keenum) were given free tickets to the Championship Game to help fill the UConn student section. When I was at UH I got free t-shirts in exchange for signing up for credit cards...I don't recall being handed tix to national championship games! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Some lucky UH students (including Case Keenum) were given free tickets to the Championship Game to help fill the UConn student section. When I was at UH I got free t-shirts in exchange for signing up for credit cards...I don't recall being handed tix to national championship games! I had a friend who went the 1st night.. Kentucky fans dwarfed Uconn fans. After the game, he said there was a good mix of UK fans trying to sell their tix for anything they could get and some just giving them away in disgust. Hopefully tonight's game, Aggies vs Irish, is a lot better than that snoozefest last night. I'm still hearing *clank clank* in my head with all those bricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I had a friend who went the 1st night.. Kentucky fans dwarfed Uconn fans. After the game, he said there was a good mix of UK fans trying to sell their tix for anything they could get and some just giving them away in disgust.I drove down Kirby Drive on Saturday morning to get to Babies R Us, and there was an insane number of UK fans everywhere...9 hours before tipoff! In fact, I saw a fair number of VCU and Butler fans, but don't recall seeing a single UConn fan on Saturday morning.I also noticed on Sunday morning that Stubhub had taken over an old car lot on the South Loop.It was pretty funny seeing all the fans of the Final Four teams wandering around the South Loop, Kirby, OST, S Main. I helped a couple folks who were walking down OST looking for a place to eat...It's not exactly the most tourist-friendly area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sellanious Caesar Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Indianapolis gets the NCAA Final Four every 5 years, wells mostly thanks to the NCAA being based there of course. But still great for Indy, and now NCAA potentially wants to put Houston in the rotation to get it every few years too.http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/04-05-11-houston-in-line-to-get-more-final-fours-after-2016-ncaa-officials-expect-it-to-become-a-regular/Awesome, lets hope it works out along with the Expo in 2020. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHiPs Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Went to see Kings of Leon on Sat. Got to DG early, approx. 1pm. Got a spot about 15 ft from the stage, after I got my beer, of course. Was in the middle of it all the crowd surfing and shenanigans. Alot of Kentucky fans in attendance. Had a blast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Went to Discovery Green last night. Sublime was the headline band. Didn't take any pics, but they have a massive stage set up directly in front of the GRB, allowing the crowd to form on the street and on the massive grassy area. It was packed all the way to the promenade. Even so, the promenade and the beer and food booths were accessible, and the lines were not too long. Hard to estimate crowds in the dark, but given the size of the concert area, I'd guess well in excess of 20,000 people there. Parking in lots closest to DG are expensive. However, I found a free street space within 4 blocks of DG. There appears to be better chances to park north of DG, near Minute Maid Park. Hilton Americas is the Coaches' hotel. Lots of coaches and athletes in there. The bar scene was very interesting, as were some of the conversations overheard. Think basketball war stories. Overall, great people watching time. I came into town on Saturday for Kings of Leon. Was pretty fun. A lot of weed, and I'm surprised HPD didn't say anything. There were drug dogs, too and many bras were thrown on stage. Was very crowded and hot, but I only saw a few people leave the pit because they were dehydrated, etc. The mass exodus at the end caused problems on the Metro Rail though. That's what happens when tens of thousands of people leave at once. Metro should have ran more trains. Here is a pic my vantage point: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I went to the semi-final games on the upper level and we ate between games. First we made a pit stop and then got in line for food. I would say 99% of the people there stayed in their seats during the games, unlike a normal Rockets, Astros or Texans game. So that meant most people got food between games, and the lines were pretty long, which was no big deal. We got our food and made it back to our seats just in time for the start of the second game. The bad thing was, I was the last person at our food station to get fries. They ran out of fries, chicken sandwhiches and chicken tenders, foot long hot dogs and philly cheesesteaks. I'm not sure if they ran out of anything else, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.We also parked downtown and took the train in. On the way back, we waited about 30-40 mins to get on the train. They also had free metro buses to supplement the train traffic running to the downtown transit centet, but since I didn't know exactly where that was, we, along with most people, decided to stay in the train line. Had we known, we would have hopped onto those half-empty buses, especially since Main was free flowing.Overall, I had a good experience. I got my food and heavy traffic is to be expected after any game. Also, although my seats were about six rows from the very top, I still thought it was a very good view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I went to the semi-final games on the upper level and we ate between games. First we made a pit stop and then got in line for food. I would say 99% of the people there stayed in their seats during the games, unlike a normal Rockets, Astros or Texans game. So that meant most people got food between games, and the lines were pretty long, which was no big deal. We got our food and made it back to our seats just in time for the start of the second game. The bad thing was, I was the last person at our food station to get fries. They ran out of fries, chicken sandwhiches and chicken tenders, foot long hot dogs and philly cheesesteaks. I'm not sure if they ran out of anything else, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.We also parked downtown and took the train in. On the way back, we waited about 30-40 mins to get on the train. They also had free metro buses to supplement the train traffic running to the downtown transit centet, but since I didn't know exactly where that was, we, along with most people, decided to stay in the train line. Had we known, we would have hopped onto those half-empty buses, especially since Main was free flowing.Overall, I had a good experience. I got my food and heavy traffic is to be expected after any game. Also, although my seats were about six rows from the very top, I still thought it was a very good view.You must have much better eyes than I do. I've been on the first row of the upper level for a concert and couldn't see a damn thing. Maybe I need some lasik action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 You must have much better eyes than I do. I've been on the first row of the upper level for a concert and couldn't see a damn thing. Maybe I need some lasik action.Maybe it helps that the players are six to seven feet tall? I thought it was a good aerial view. It seemed everyone around us enjoyed it too. I've been up there for a Texan game too and it enjoyed it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brijonmang Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I had a little better luck on the seats...I actually got the hook up in a section that was set aside for only people associated with the NCAA. I was surrounded by coaches and all kinds of higher ups in the NCAA, it was kind of cool people watching and meeting some high profile people. I even met "former" Texas Tech AD Gerald Myers (he was sitting right behind me). Here are some pictures from the games. It was an awesome time! Hip hop artist Drake was all about Kentucky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 My only experience with the final 4 was riding my bike down a street in downtown and some guy in a truck comes and sits behind me (mind there are 2 other lanes available) and after about 10 seconds of flashing his beams he squeals by me about 2 feet from hitting me.made me glad that most of those people stay in the suburbs 99% of the time. I should have thought prior to getting on my bike that there were going to be a lot of suburban tourists in downtown, but didn't remember till I saw DG was roped off.Glad to hear people had a good time though, hopefully, most of the visitors have good impressions of Houston taken back to wherever they are from! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I've talked to quite a few of them and most seemed to have had a good time. One in particular that I ran into seemed to whine a bit how Charlotte or some other "walkable town" would have been better. Before returning to my drink, I simply said, "Yeah, let's see them house 70+k people."What I'm rahter curious about is the various write-ups by all the reporters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 My only experience with the final 4 was riding my bike down a street in downtown and some guy in a truck comes and sits behind me (mind there are 2 other lanes available) and after about 10 seconds of flashing his beams he squeals by me about 2 feet from hitting me.made me glad that most of those people stay in the suburbs 99% of the time. I should have thought prior to getting on my bike that there were going to be a lot of suburban tourists in downtown, but didn't remember till I saw DG was roped off.Glad to hear people had a good time though, hopefully, most of the visitors have good impressions of Houston taken back to wherever they are from!Yeah your right... Those damn suburbanites are the only ones squealing tires and driving trucks in the BIG city. Talk about an ignorant stereotype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Lol, no offense was meant, it has been my experience that only on days when there are events that would bring people in from the burbs do I have issues riding my bike through downtown, and from spring to fall I ride through downtown every weekday after work for exercise.I think I have a bit of experience in the matter.In no way am I saying that all people from the burbs are rude or unsafe around bicycles, but a great many are as they are less familiar sharing the road with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Lol, no offense was meant, it has been my experience that only on days when there are events that would bring people in from the burbs do I have issues riding my bike through downtown, and from spring to fall I ride through downtown every weekday after work for exercise.I think I have a bit of experience in the matter.In no way am I saying that all people from the burbs are rude or unsafe around bicycles, but a great many are as they are less familiar sharing the road with them.Fine, but for those of you that want DG, etc to succeed, you'll have to understand that that will include those outside the loop venturing into downtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Great point, and I want every one to enjoy it, including me,which I can't do if someone kills me because they don't appreciate what they can do when the 2 ton tank they are driving hits a person on a bicycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckdee Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 So who do you have? Kentucky, Kansas, Florida and Ohio St. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigereye Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Bump for 2016! http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2014-12-17/2016-mens-final-four-logo-revealed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunstar Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 This will be a nice dry run for the Super Bowl. Unfortunately a lot of the downtown projects will still be in progress when this rolls around, including the Marriott Marquis, which I believe isn't projected to open until that fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 The NCAA Final Four is coming back to Houston in 2023. (Phoenix, San Antonio and Indianapolis were also selected for succeeding Final Fours (2024-2026). Competing cities that were not selected: LA, Detroit and DFW (apparently now going by the pseudonym "North Texas"). https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/07/16/houston-to-host-the-final-four-again.html?ana=e_hstn_bn_breakingnews&u=uBqE1YCQOITc04lRpC0%2FyvVIkzz&t=1531841407&j=82743071 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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