Chase Center in San Francisco came alive Saturday as the city hosted the Texas Tech University Red Raiders and the University of Florida Gators for the NCAA Elite Eight Men's Basketball finals for the West Region.
Fans from around the country decked out in their team colors, sent cheers echoing across Chase Center.
The game was close throughout, and in the second half, the Gators were behind by ten points with six minutes remaining. But the Gators pulled through, clinching an 84-79 win over the Red Raiders and locking in their ticket to the Final Four.
While some fans flew in to attend, others traveled from around Northern California to watch these games.
Chase Center reported there were 16,778 fans at Saturday's game. The venue hosted games for the Sweet Sixteen tournament round earlier in the week.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie was at the game as well.
Lurie told NBC Bay Area that he had spoken to some of the out-of-town fans visiting San Francisco this weekend.
Sports
"They’re getting to see what we see all day, every day, which is: San Francisco’s on the rise," Lurie said.
He said that San Francisco is "mecca" for sports, noting the city just hosted the NBA All Star Game last month. He also noted that the Bay Area will host World Cup matches and the Super Bowl in 2026.
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"This is what we were built for," Lurie emphasized.
The fans visiting San Francisco who spoke with NBC Bay Area said they think Chase Center is a great spot to see a game.
"Logistically, it was easy to get to," said Pat Conway of Dallas, a Texas Tech alum who traveled to support his alma mater.
"[I] thought it was a great venue, good sight lines, pricing was very good, I think it's top-notch," Conway said.
While his team lost this matchup, he's optimistic about the future.
"We’ll be back," Conway said of the Red Raiders. "This isn’t the last you’ve heard of us, I promise you."
San Mateo resident Pj Metz found a group of fellow Gators fans to celebrate with after the game.
"Amazing, absolutely amazing," Metz said of Saturday's game. "It's like I’m back in school, back in '05, '06, '07- back when we were winning a bunch of games."
Metz proudly shared that he attended the University of Florida and played in the band at basketball games.
He thinks Chase Center "worked great" as a venue for the NCAA tournament.
"It just felt good being here with Gators and people who actually want to cheer and get excited during the game," Metz said.
Chase Center opened in 2019 and hosted its first March Madness games in 2022. This year marks the second time the venue has hosted games for the tournament.
Chase Center is slated to host March Madness games again in 2028.
