Hogs fans in Fort Smith cheer sweet win in March Madness
Arkansas plays next in Sweet Sixteen Thursday
Fort Smith bars erupted with the Hog calls, and the one-poin,t college hoops classic win.
Razorbacks fans celebrated the March Madness victory Saturday nigh at the Bricktown Brewery in Fort Smith. Arkansas beat the defending national champion. And they watched the thrilling comeback victory and the coach go shirtless.
More fans may make spring break trips to Las Vegas for a Thursday night Sweet Sixteen date with the University of Connecticut Huskies. It may be a pricey, impromptu trip.
Online tickets for sale Monday were priced from $1,176 a ticket for a lower zone seat to $265 for an upper row seat at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Thursday, March 23.
Arkansas and Connecticut play before UCLA and Gonzaga in the West Regional.
The roundtrip cost of an airplane ticket on American Airlines with only one stop in Dallas can run about $1,000. Tack on the hotel stay.
Randal Barbry, a travel consultant at Universal Travel on Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith, said a trip to Las Vegas with the airfare and hotel rooms is about $1,700 a person. It may sound high, and it is because it is spring break, Barbry said.
Should the Hogs team survive the Huskies and the Elite Eight game Saturday, March 25, a Final Four berth would follow. That would be in Houston.
For those who decide to call the Hogs from Fort Smith, Razorback fans can gather at the Bakery District, 70 S. 7th Street to watch the game at the Fort Smith International Film Festival's Thursday night movie series. Instead of a movie, festival staff will air the big game on a big screen. Tipoff is 6:15 p.m. Other bars and restaurants will get a spring break boost from fans who turn out for the game.
More:Arkansas basketball fans react as coach Eric Musselman goes shirtless to celebrate Kansas upset
The Hogs will keep dancing in the men's basketball tournament after the 72-71 victory over the Jayhawks Saturday night in Des Moines, Iowa in the West Regional. The next game is Thursday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Check www.swtimes.com to find out how to watch and follow the Hogs in the Sweet Sixteen game Thursday with Connecticut.
