Basketball brought thousands of visitors to Buffalo during the NCAA tournament, but what impressions of the Queen City will they take home with them? WBFO hit the streets to get a line on how visitors enjoyed March Madness in Buffalo.
Many of the people interviewed said, while they came to town for basketball, they also discovered great food, architecture and attractions.
“We’re just visiting friends out here, and now we’re just looking around seeing the sites,” said Ken Bronson of Utica, NY.
“It’s a great city, great hospitality, great food and basketball is fantastic,” said Steve Dombroski of Latham, NY.
WBFO came upon a group of visitors from as far away as Quebec, Canada.
“Well, we’ve just been looking at the vintage buildings. Iit’s a beautiful town,” said Paul Brown of Saint-Sauveur, QC. “I guess all my impressions have all been positive so far. We’re here for the tournament, the basketball tournament. We’ve been enjoying ourselves.”
“I think it’s a friendly city," said Kim Parker, also of Saint-Sauveur. "I like the new attempt to balance the old architecture with the new. We’ve just been walking park to park, enjoying the sites.”
“I think I’ve been here at least four or five times, and I have seen changes because the first time I came was probably around 2000, 2001 and we’re really noticing a big effort in revitalizing your downtown, I’ll call it, or down by the canals,” said Sandra Savery of Sainte Luce, Quebec.
“Definitely made it more attractive. I’m sure in the summer it’s great for families and all that, but even as a tourist, it’s fun to be here," she said. “I guess the ambiance - to be able to, as Kim just said, park our car, walk around and enjoy the sites. And good food and sporting events, we’re good.”
“I mean, it’s a big difference in downtown, it’s a big difference in the suburbs. It’s nice to come to Canalside to see what’s down here now,” said John Richard, also of Sainte Luce. "We usually come for sporting events. We come for Buffalo Bills football, basketball tournaments, so it’s a great magnet to get us to come from where we are down here.”