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SALT LAKE CITY -- Whether or not BYU makes it to the next round in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, people involved with the hosting Energy Solutions Arena say it's going to be a big deal.
The West Regional games, played in Salt Lake City March 25-27, are already sold out.
March is the busiest time of year for restaurants like Iggy's Sports Bar and Grill. When the NCAA tournament comes to the Energy Solutions Arena, Downtown Manager Travis Cude says the streets will be full.
"We're hearing it's going to have about 16,000 extra people in the city," he said.
Cude says his downtown restaurant was filled to capacity for BYU's first round game, and that was on a Thursday morning in a restaurant that has more of a University of Utah-friendly crowd.
"We normally open at 11. We opened up an hour earlier [that day] because the game started at 10:20," Cude said. "By 10:30, the restaurant was packed."
Cude says they expect to run crazy Saturday night not just because of the Cougars, but the Jazz play at home.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
