So what if you don’t have tickets to the Final Four?
There are still many activities you can join in downtown, including some top-notch free college basketball games and big-name concerts.
Get the family, get in the car or on MARTA and hit Atlanta for these good times:
Division II and III Championship games
For the first time in 75 years of tournament history, Atlanta will host both the Men’s Final Four and the national championship games in Division II and III. The Division II and Division III games will take place Sunday at Philips Arena — just a stone’s throw away from the big dance and Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia World Congress Center and the Georgia Dome, where other activities can be found as well. These championship games are free and open to the public and are the perfect opportunity to catch some of the best teams in the nation up close.
Championship games at 12:30 p.m. for Division III and 4 p.m. for Division II. Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive, www.philipsarena.com/home
Free Concerts in Centennial Olympic Park, 265 Park Ave. N.W.
Friday: Saints of Valory (4:45 p.m.), My Morning Jacket (7 p.m.), Zac Brown Band (9 p.m.)
Saturday: Yacht Rock Revue (12:15 p.m.), Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (1:45 p.m.), Ludacris (3:15 p.m.), Flo Rida (4:30 p.m.), Muse (8:30 p.m.)
Sunday: Blind Pilot (TBA), Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (4:15 p.m.), Sting (6 p.m.), Dave Matthews Band (8 p.m.).
Bracket Town by Coca-Cola Zero
This low-cost fan fest at the Georgia World Congress Center opens Friday and runs until the Division I Championship game Monday. It showcases most NCAA sports, including football, golf, tennis, soccer, and, of course, basketball. Fans can choose between a number of activities and events, such as basketball youth clinics and the Legends Game, which features stars from the past who have paved the way for today’s college basketball student-athletes. There are plenty of contests, promotions and autograph sessions with basketball greats.
Noon-8 p.m. Friday, Sunday and Monday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, $10 adults and $6 youth, Georgia World Congress Center, 285 Andrew Young International Blvd. N.W.
Tourney Time Block Party
A collection of DJs and music, karaoke, acoustic jam sessions, a conglomeration of food trucks — and Atlanta has some top-notch food trucks — and adult and alcohol-free drinks at 145 Luckie St., just east of the Georgia Dome.
Free. Friday, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; Sunday, noon-midnight; Monday,10 a.m. until tipoff. www.tourneytimeblockparty.com
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mayor Kasim Reed will lead the Final Four Dribble
Featuring up to 3,000 kids dribbling basketballs Sunday down 1 mile of Andrew Young International Boulevard, starting at the center of NCAA activities near the Georgia Dome. It is part of a push to get children involved in active lifestyles.
9:30-11 a.m., registration; 11 a.m.-noon, dribbling. Free, at International Plaza on Philips Drive outside the Georgia Dome. Participants get a free T-shirt and admittance into Bracket Town.
Powerade 3 vs. 3 Tournament finals.
Kenny Smith, the former NBA standout and Turner Sports basketball analyst, will host the championship game of the collegiate intramural 3 on 3 tournament Sunday.
6:30 p.m., Smith speaks; 7-8 p.m., championship game. In Bracket Town in the Georgia World Congress Center.
Wounded Warriors vs. Atlanta All Stars
Friday, a team of former professional football, basketball and baseball players and members of the University of Georgia’s 1983 basketball team, who made it to the Final Four, play a team of amputee-soldiers. The Warriors are an inspirational softball team of amputees who have challenged the all stars to a basketball game to raise awareness about America’s veterans, their needs and abilities. A 30-mile jaunt north of the Georgia Dome will get you to the game, hosted by NBA Hall of Fame members Artis Gilmore and Dave Cowens.
5 p.m. at Peachtree Ridge High School, 1555 Old Peachtree Road N.W. in Suwanee, off I-85 Exit 109, $20 adults, $10 students and free for kids under 6.
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