More Than 20,000 People Watch As UCONN Wins Regional In Albany

What do you get when a newly renovated Times Union Center an add in the Regional Round of the NCAA Women's Tournament featuring the UCONN Women? More than 20,000 people in down town Albany.

This was basically the perfect weekend for the Times Union Center and down town Albany. After all the renovations and the addition of the Albany Capital Center you don't know for sure how people will react. Well now we know, book top sporting events like the Women's NCAA Regional round and you'll pack the place. This is great news considering the NCAA women’s basketball tournament is back at Times Union Center for another regional. Then it's the men's turn in 2020, the men’s tournament returns with first and second round games after nearly two decades away from New York’s capital.

So what's next according to an article on the Daily Gazette's website: Bob Belber — SMG regional manager of Times Union Center said “We definitely will continue to bid on them just as aggressively as we have in the past, and maybe even more aggressively, now that we’ve seen how successful it can be.”

One more note to prove the passion of the Upstate New York Sports fan. Albany outdrew all other regions. Alb: 20,186, Lexington Regional 11,983, Spokane 10,310, KC 8,369.

As a life long Capital Region native I can't help but be a little proud we're getting these highly sought after events here in Albany.