CLEVELAND — Four of the 32 games of the first round of the NCAA March Madness were played in Cleveland on Friday and two of the second round games take place in the city on Sunday night.

What You Need To Know

  • First and second rounds of March Madness were hosted at Rocket Arena in Cleveland this weekend

  • Residents like George Haggerty love to see big tournaments like this happen in northeast Ohio

  • The tournament also affected businesses like Harry Buffalo, which is neighbors with Rocket Arena

George Haggerty, a longtime Northeast Ohio resident, said he loves to see big sporting events like this take place here.

“This is a better basketball city than people give it credit for,” he said.

Haggerty is attending the second round games inside Rocket Arena, which is normally the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Whether to not you are going to the game or a basketball fan, it is a big deal for a city to host this event.

“It’s an opportunity for everybody to see what we already know and that this is a great sports town. There’s a lot to do,” Haggerty said.

This tournament has also affected businesses such as Harry Buffalo, which is a bar and restaurant that is steps away from Rocket Arena. Dom Nelson, a bartender at Harry Buffalo, said the atmosphere has been “insane”.

Nelson said the crowd is like the one last year when the NCAA’s Women’s Final Four was in town.

“We’re two seconds away. You can see it from our restaurant so everybody is going to pile in here which is great,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he wants to see more events like this hosted in Cleveland.

“It’s awesome. I mean, it’s good for the city, it brings a lot of money in. People who never thought they’d be here come here and they fall in love with the city, which is what you want. It’s how the city grows,” Nelson said.

The first game is at 6:40 p.m. between Alabama and St. Mary’s and the second game is Michigan State against New Mexico.