Final Prep for NCAA at Mackey

Final Preparation at Mackey Arena for the NCAA tournament.

Play-in games of the ncaa tournament.

Final preparations for the games are wrapping up today.

News 18's peter hulett was at mackey arena earlier today and joins us in studio, peter?

Hey jeff, throughout the day there was a ton of activity inside and outside the arena.

In the back busses were picking up and dropping off players, in front tables and metal detectors were being moved.

Inside the arena there will also be a number of changes.

First the new ncaa court is covering the original purdue court which has been covered and protected.

Team benches will expand into bleachers, so players could be seen running down stairs during games.

The fan experience has changed too.

Fans will mostly be seated in the upper bowl and socially distanced.

Assistant athletic director katie egloff says keeping fans safe and healthy is a top priority, especially with last years tournament being cancelled.

But we want to continue to keep those reminders, you know we want to make sure we can have all these games and keep pple as healthy and as a safe as possible.

But remember that we didn't get to have this last year so it's really fortunate that we've made it to this point and can have these games.

And players seem to be excited too, egloff said they had their phones out entering the court for the first time she hopes fans will get that same excitement.

And aside from covid percautions, fans can expect metal detectors at the door, mobile ticket scanners, and limited concessions.

Live in the studio peter hulett, news 18.

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