For UW-Madison students, this weekend will bring a much-anticipated spring break.

But downtown businesses may not even miss the student crowd, thanks to the 33,000 visitors expected to settle into the city for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional.

While area restaurants, bars and hotels are preparing for the increased crowds of visitors, they also welcome increased revenue.

Ross Johnson, owner of State Street Brats, 603 State St., said he expects fans of Kansas, Oregon, Illinois and Texas to crowd his bar during the games because many visiting fans will not have tickets for the sold-out games at the Kohl Center.

“There are going to be a lot of people looking for fun and the Wisconsin experience,” Johnson said.

To accommodate the projected crowd, Johnson said the employees of the bar not leaving for spring break would work double shifts to ensure 16 to 17 people are on staff at all times.

“We’re envisioning three home football games right in a row,” Johnson said.

While the bar will not host its usual student clientele this weekend because of spring break, Johnson said he does not expect the crowd to be any less energetic.

“It will probably be like the difference between a regular weekend in March and a home football game weekend in the fall,” he said.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the Madison Police Department is also making plans for the tournament weekend and will implement extra patrol units downtown.

He said while the large number of visitors expected in the city could cause traffic and parking problems, the $1.7 million the visitors are expected to spend in Madison businesses is well worth it.

“The economic benefit to our community is unlimited,” he said. “It is really unbelievable. All the free advertising that the city and UW are garnering from this event is just priceless.”