Plans are in the works for extra trains and buses. Restaurants have been told to prepare

for an influx of hungry sports fans. Dozens of volunteers will be ready to direct visitors

outside HSBC Arena.

Next up: Sell out the tickets to the first and second rounds of the NCAA basketball

tournament in Buffalo on March 19 and 21.

Just shy of 1,800 tickets — all in the 300 level of HSBC Arena — were still

available late Wednesday, said Ken Taylor, tournament manager for the first and second rounds

in Buffalo.

That's a departure from the three previous years Buffalo has hosted the tournament, when

tickets sold out through a spring lottery the year before.

"We're very pleased with the ticket sales so far, but I would like to put the message out

to the community that there are tickets available," Taylor said.

All of the tickets still available are selling for $219 and give attendees access to six

games Friday and Sunday.

Taylor attributed the slower-than-usual ticket sales to the economic climate.

"Times are a little different now," Taylor said. "People are a little tighter with their

money and a little more selective as to the types of events they want to see."

Tourney manager talks about ticket sales

Taylor said the three previous years the tournament was in Buffalo — 2000, 2004 and

2007 — tickets sold out through lottery.

"In the past, we would always get more applications than we had tickets, so that's why

people assumed that it would sell out," Taylor said. "But this past year, we did have about

7,000 people who applied, thinking they were going into a lottery, and fortunately, we were

able to fulfill all of those requests."

Of the 18,000 seats in HSBC Arena, about 13,000 were available for public purchase for the

NCAA games, Taylor said. That leaves 13 percent of the general public seats still for sale.

He expects the Buffalo games to sell out before Selection Sunday — the March 14 event

in which the NCAA determines where teams will play.

Meanwhile, work has started "behind the scenes" to make sure Buffalo looks good when the

tournament arrives, said Jay Josker, sport services manager for the Buffalo Niagara Sports

Commission.

An NCAA local organizing committee has met with local restaurants and is working with the

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to prepare for an influx of visitors.

"We don't get many opportunities like this to stand in the national spotlight," Josker

said. "So for everyone to come together like this is a great testament to the community and

the organizations in the community that make these things go."

Josker said the committee has focused on preparing for when the arena is expected to empty

out between the first and second sessions on Friday, March 19.

"During that timeframe, there's 18,000 people out on the street, and they need someplace to

eat," Josker said. "They want to grab a beer."

Josker said the committee has met with restaurant representatives and told them to be ready

to turn over tables as fast as possible during the first night. In addition, the NFTA has come

on board to make sure buses and trains can spread tournament visitors to restaurants

throughout the city, Josker said.

The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau has also set up a Web site —

http://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/buffalo2010/ — to give visitors more information

about where to go while they're in town.

Hotels also are bracing for more visitors on tournament weekend.

Michael Marsch, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Buffalo, said the hotel has already

seen "strong demand" for rooms.

The hotel is the NCAA headquarters for the event and has set aside rooms for the

organization. Marsch said he expects general room sales to jump after Selection Sunday.

"Once the teams are selected, as soon as the announcement is made," Marsch said, "that's

when the phone starts ringing off the hook."