NCAA Basketball At Nationwide Arena – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | General
March 11, 2012
The teams are set for the NCAA men’s basketball second- and third-round tournament games being played Friday, March 16, and Sunday, March 18, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Game times are still to be determined.
Matchups Friday include top-seeded Michigan State facing No. 16 Long Island and No. 8 Memphis against No. 9 Saint Louis, with the winners of those West Region games meeting on Sunday in the third round.
No. 3 Georgetown will face No. 14 Belmont Friday, as will No. 6 San Diego State and No. 11 North Carolina State, with those Midwest Region winners also meeting on Sunday.
A limited number of all-session tickets for the weekend are still available at NCAA.com/mbbtickets . Single session tickets, if available, will go on sale Thursday at the Nationwide Arena ticket office and Ticketmaster.
Fans will have a variety of parking options in the Arena District and nearby. In the Arena District, parking will be available in the Chestnut Street garage, Front Street garage and Marconi garage. Several surface parking lots will be available just west of Neil Avenue, including the lot just west of the LC Pavilion and one at 600 West Spring Street (just west of the railroad tracks).
Pricing in those garages and lots on Friday and Sunday will be the same event pricing as for Columbus Blue Jackets games, ranging from $10-15. Event parking is cash only. Standard hourly parking rates will apply on Thursday and Saturday.
Parking is also available in the Convention Center garage on Vine Street, the Convention Center surface lot at Fourth and Nationwide Blvd., and the surface lots located between Vine and Spruce Streets just north of the Arena District. Additional parking is just a 10-minute walk away at the Columbus Commons garage at the old City Center location. Visitors to the Columbus Auto Show at the Greater Columbus Convention Center Thursday through Sunday will want to use convention center parking.
Friday will be a busy day in the Arena District, so fans are encouraged to arrive early. A list of the many nearby establishments fans can visit for food and entertainment is online at www.arenadistrict.com .
Because of ongoing road construction throughout Columbus, fans are advised to use the following routes when planning their trip to Nationwide Arena for the NCAA tournament:
Nationwide Arena Directions and Parking for 2012 NCAA Tournament
Coming from the North/I-71: Go south on I-71. Exit right at Broad St. Turn right onto North Fourth Street. Turn left onto Nationwide Blvd. Proceed to the signed event parking entrances.
Coming from the North/Rt. 315: Go south on OH-315 to I-670 east. Exit onto Neil Avenue and turn right. Proceed to the signed event parking entrances.
Coming from the South/I-71: Go north on I-71. Exit at Front St. (#100A). Turn left onto Front Street. Proceed north on Front Street to signed event parking entrances near Front Street and Nationwide Blvd.
Coming from the East/I-70: Go west on I-70. Exit at Fourth Street (#100B) and turn right. At Nationwide Blvd., turn left and proceed to signed event parking entrances.
Coming from the East/I-670: Go west on I-670 to I-71 South briefly before exiting on your right at Spring Street. Follow Spring Street across High Street to Neil Avenue. Turn right on Neil Avenue and look for signed event parking entrances.
Coming from the West/I-70: Go east on I-70 to I-670. Exit at Rt. 33-Dublin Road/Long Street. Turn right onto Long Street. Turn left onto Neil Avenue. Follow signed event parking entrances.
