The Men’s Final Four Fan Fest, presented by Capital One, was held in the Phoenix Convention Center from April 5 to 8. The event cost $10 after the $8 presale closed on March 31. Over 50,000 fans flocked to the event.
The Fan Fest featured a range of activities for fans: games, crafts, appearances by local mascots, former NCAA and NBA players, AT&T offering fans a chance to select their own basketball court to play on and Wilson unveiled its new 3D-printed airless basketball for people to test.
The Powerade experience allowed fans to create their own Final Four moment, and Trinity Displays, a fabrication and printing company that designed the Buick Arena foot, partnered with the NCAA to create some of the attractions at Fan Fest.
“We came to Arizona and Cleveland, Ohio, for the women’s NCAA finals,” Izzy Hutnick, marketing director of Trinity Displays, said. “We printed, we built the dunk pits, we printed all the fabrication here and our teams flew out to both locations and built them physically.”
Hutnick came to Phoenix with the company’s mascot, Display Dino, to help expose Trinity Display to more potential customers.
“We want to get our name out there,” Hutnick said. “We’re 10 years into the industry, and we’re taking advantage of the situation a little bit.”
As alums of the university, both Hutnick and her husband, who was walking around Fan Fest as Display Dino, were also excited to see the Purdue Boilermakers in the playoffs.
“Being a lifelong Purdue fan, they haven’t even made it through the Sweet 16, and it’s been 44 years,” Hutnick said. “To see these young kids get this opportunity and all the hard work [Purdue Men’s Basketball Head Coach Matt] Painter’s put into the team. It’s really paying off.”
Phoenix local Jeanna Pederson and her family came to Fan Fest to enjoy the festivities despite their team not being in the playoffs.
“We figured we’d come check it out and have lots of fun for our kids,” Pederson and her husband said. “Both of my sons play basketball, so I figured it’d be cool.”
