Arizona, Glendale officials stress public safety ahead of Final Four weekend

The thousands of people planning to attend the festivities surrounding this weekend’s NCAA men’s basketball Final Four event can expect a safe environment — and, hopefully, good weather.

That’s the commitment top law enforcement and elected officials gave Monday morning from a balcony overlooking State Farm Stadium, where Purdue, UConn, Alabama and NC State will compete in the national semifinals on Saturday.

“Basketball is a great sport and greatness cannot be achieved without teamwork,” Jay Parry, the president and CEO of the event’s host committee, said before introducing a lineup of local, state and federal agencies, as well as Gov. Katie Hobbs and Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers.

“They are committed to ensuring the 2024 men’s Final Four is safe and secure for all attendees,” Parry continued. “That is our No. 1 priority.”

The team of public safety departments touted their cooperative efforts in planning for the slate of Final Four events, which tips off this Friday in downtown Phoenix and Glendale.

“The Valley is no stranger to these major events,” Phoenix Assistant Police Chief Nicholas DiPonzio said, referring to the stadium’s previous hosting of three Super Bowls and the 2017 Final Four.

“I expect this collaborative of law enforcement professionals and public safety professionals to put on another world-class event this weekend,” he added.

Collectively, the officials Monday said there will be a robust presence of officers patrolling the events. They also advised eventgoers to be diligent when spotting suspicious activity, reiterating the practice of “see something, say something.”

“There'll be plenty of uniformed personnel, police and fire,” said Glendale Assistant Police Chief Colby Brandt. “Reach out to any one of them and they will know exactly what to do from there.”

With traffic also expected to be an issue, likely creating delays for those traveling near the events, Brandt preached for patience.

“We'll be making adjustments throughout the week to ensure you get where you’re going safely and as efficiently as possible,” he said.

To help alleviate some of that anticipated traffic, DiPonzio encouraged visitors to use public transportation whenever possible.

Once people start arriving at the events though, they’ll be “in good hands,” Brandt assured.

What can fans do in Phoenix and Glendale?

When the activities get underway this Friday, college basketball fans can spend time downtown or in Glendale.

In Glendale at 10 a.m., the stadium will host the Reese’s Men’s Final Four Friday, where visitors can find interactive activities and entertainment. Fans can also watch the Final Four teams practice ahead of Saturday’s big matchups.

State Farm Stadium also will host three days of the Men’s Final Four Tip-Off Tailgate. Semifinal and national championship game ticket holders are invited to the tailgate on Saturday and Monday. The tailgate also will be open during the events of Final Four Friday.

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Over in Phoenix, the Phoenix Convention Center will hold the Men’s Final Four Fan Fest all four days of the event, allowing guests to play interactive games, get autographs and catch sightings of celebrities and athletes.

There’s also the NCAA March Madness Music Festival at Hance Park in downtown. Grammy-winning artist Zedd will headline the first night of the free three-day concert series. Other expected artists include Reneé Rapp, the Jonas Brothers, Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys and Leon Bridges.

“Rain or shine, all the events are going on as planned,” Parry said. “The forecast is looking good for our usual Arizona sun.”

The National Weather Service is forecasting a "sunny and breezy" Friday, with a 69-degree high. Saturday and Sunday are expected to be sunny, while Monday is anticipated to be about 75 degrees and mostly sunny.

Mayor Weiers joked that he had already “ordered more good weather” for the weekend.

“So, you don’t have to worry about that,” he teased.

What teams are playing and when?

When fans aren’t enjoying the range of activities, their attention will be on the on-the-court action this Saturday and Monday.

NC State — this year’s Cinderella story, clawing their way to the Final Four as an 11th seed — will face off against a No. 1-ranked dominant Purdue team at 3:09 p.m.

The No. 1-seeded UConn will take on the No. 4-seeded Alabama at 5:49 p.m.

The winning teams of each game will head to the championship game to vie for March Madness glory next Monday.

While the teams only punched their ticket to the Valley this past weekend, event organizers and the team of partner agencies have been planning for this weekend for over a year, Gov. Hobbs said during Monday’s press conference from the Glendale Media Center.

Arizona has "successfully" earned opportunities to host many mega sporting events over the years, she noted. A major component of that is the commitment to public safety.

"Our visitors expect a high level of coordination dedicated to public safety and we will deliver that," she said. “We will ensure that the participating teams and fans are able to travel safely between hotels, event sites and State Farm Stadium."

Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Reach him at sraymundo@gannett.com or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona officials stress public safety ahead of Final Four events