WaterFire on schedule for Providence NCAA tourney site

PROVIDENCE, RI -- Basketball fans coming to Providence to cheer on their alma maters in the NCAA tournament in March will get to see the bright side of the city as the tourney planning group has found a sponsor for WaterFire.

Dunkin' Donuts will pay to create a limited version of the city's signature cultural event Friday, March 19 -- the off day that comes in the middle of the two-day college hoops tournament, according to the Providence-Warwick Convention and Visitor's Bureau. The WaterFire lighting will be limited to the braziers in the Waterplace Park basin.

Bureau employees met Wednesday morning with representatives of Providence College, which is the host institution for the opening rounds of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in the city, and business leaders.

Eight teams will be sent here for games on March 18 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Winners in the opening games will play March 20 at the Dunk. Thousands of people are expected to travel to Rhode Island to see the games. State tourism officials are working to help those people enjoy their time here in the expectation they'll pump money into the local economy now and the hope they'll return to do the same some time down the road.