WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The City of Wichita is ramping up prep to host the NCAA Tournament, and it has out-of-state fans flocking to the Air Capital. KSN spoke with the general manager of one hotel, who says getting ready for this week has been years in the making. "I actually did my bracket this morning," Nic Yoxall, the general manager of Fairfield & Suites By Marriott Wichita Downtown, said. The 8 teams coming to Wichita for the NCAA Tournament Yoxall loves this time of year. "When the brackets were released, I was like everybody else, kind of glued to the to the screen last night. I really wanted that KU-Arkansas game here," said Yoxall. "I got some ties to Arkansas, and so I like to give all the KU fans around here a hard time." Craig Compton, an economics professor at Wichita State University, said hosting out-of-state teams has benefits. "With sizable events, we've seen figures up to 40% of the visitors coming from out of town, and so when they come from out of town," said Compton. "Obviously, they have to stay at a hotel, and that provides a lot of economic stimuli." This year is different from the year the city hosted in 2018. "With a lot of those regional teams like Missouri, like Houston, we have a lot of different locations where we can draw from compared to KU, where a lot of people who are in the Wichita area were already KU fans, and they weren't necessarily injecting new dollars," said Compton. Essential info for NCAA attendees at Intrust Bank Arena The economic boost is projected to be a slam dunk for Wichita. "We had parents of players that I remember getting to know during that time this year, you know, without having, per se, a local team. I think the draws will be good. I think Gonzaga has a really good following as well as Houston, the One Seed," Yoxall. All games are being played on Thursday and Saturday. But several pre-hype events start Wednesday. ...read more read less