Years in the making, NCAA tourney is here

In the coming days, Wichita will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the first time in almost 25 years, and for the first time at Intrust Bank Arena. The excitement is everywhere as the community gears up to welcome basketball fans from around the nation.

Thanks goes to Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall for his dedication to a stellar basketball program and for having the foresight to recommend NCAA representatives tour the arena while they were in town several years ago.

To the local organizing committee – Wichita State University, Intrust Bank Arena, the city of Wichita, Sedgwick County, Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission and Visit Wichita – thank you for the hard work preparing for this moment.

To the Wichita business community, thank you for providing more than a dozen fan events as well as hanging posters, banners and welcome messages to create an energetic welcome for fans.

To everyone in the community, thank you for supporting this event in every way possible and for welcoming guests with open arms. Wichita is a sports city and Visit Wichita is proud to help bring events like this to Wichita.

We look forward to a fantastic week of basketball in Wichita and wish the Shockers the best of luck in the tournament. Go Shockers!

This story was originally published March 11, 2018 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Years in the making, NCAA tourney is here."