Fighting Illini begin Final Four preparations in Indianapolis

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10 hours ago

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April 3, 2026

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Fighting Illini begin Final Four preparations in Indianapolis – CBS Chicago

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The Fighting Illini hit the court for their first practice on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Final Four matchup against Connecticut.

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Final Four Fan Fest, concerts in Indy feature some big names

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22 hours ago

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April 2, 2026

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Press Room

Final Four Fan Fest, concerts in Indy feature some big names

Heading to Indianapolis for the 2026 Final Four?

There’s plenty beyond basketball to keep you busy with fan events and concerts popping up across downtown Indy to mark the April 4 and 6 games at Lucas Oil Stadium — plus the Division II, Division III and NIT championships taking place back-to-back-to-back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse April 5.

Concerts featuring Twenty One Pilots, Zac Brown Band, Post Malone and Megan Moroney are the headliners. There will be an additional music festival, a dribbling contest through the city and what the NCAA is dubbing a multi-day “sports wonderland” at the Indiana Convention Center are on tap for the extended Final Four weekend. Here’s your guide to everything downtown will have to offer.

Swish 2026

April 3-6. Around downtown. Live music, art and giveaways. Free. indyarts.org/swish-2026

More than 200 local artists, performers, vendors and chefs will be part of the family-friendly festival, where visitors can grab free commemorative posters and postcards by Herron School of Art and Design students. The Indy Arts Council, Indiana Sports Corp, Forty5 Presents, Ganggang, Epicurean Indy, and the Local Organizing Committee for the 2026 NCAA Men’s Final Four are putting on the celebrations. Events include:

Noon-6 p.m. each day: Live music performances by central Indiana musicians, dancers and spoken-word poets at Monument Circle, 1 Virginia Ave., PNC Plaza, Starbucks at 30 S. Meridian St. and sites to be announced
Sidewalk Galleries: Vinyl-wrapped storefront murals and poems as well as mural-wrapped traffic signal boxes and art installations at the Indianapolis International Airport
11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 4: Epicurean Market and MOKAO, with more than 50 vendors an international market with food, artisan coffee and chocolate. At the Stutz, 1060 N. Capitol Ave. epicureanindy.com
Sampson Levingston will lead walk and talk tours about college basketball history in downtown’s Mile Square. Reserve free tickets at tinyurl.com/3sdknyc9
March 27-April 4: The Asante Art Institute will present the play “A Touch of Glory” about the 1955 Crispus Attucks Tigers, the first all-black school in the country to win a high school basketball state championship. At the Basile Theatre at the Athenaeum, 401 E. Michigan St. $30-$45.

Final Four Fan Fest

April 3-6. Indiana Convention Center, 100 S. Capitol Ave. $10 tickets until March 29, $15 during event week. Tickets here and more info here.

The Indiana Convention Center will host games, activations, music, celebrity appearances and more throughout the Final Four extended weekend. Free entry for kids under 12 (with accompanying purchase of adult ticket), Final Four game ticketholders, military personnel, college students with valid school ID and Capital One cardholders.

April 3: noon-6 p.m.
April 4: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
April 5: noon-6 p.m.
April 6: noon-8 p.m.

Final Four Friday

April 3, 10 a.m.-3:35 p.m. Lucas Oil Stadium, 500 S. Capitol Ave. Free entry. More info here.

Lucas Oil Stadium will open its doors for a USA Basketball 3×3 exhibition game Friday morning, followed by open practices from the Final Four teams. Final Four Friday will conclude with the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star Game, featuring the top seniors in Division I basketball. All-Star players will also sign autographs at the South End of Lucas Oil near section 138.

March Madness Music Festival

April 3-5. American Legion Mall, 700 N. Pennsylvania St. Free entry. More info here.

Downtown’s American Legion Mall will host a three-day music festival with a lineup of major artists and performers. The festival will kick off April 3 with the AT&T Block Party, followed by Coca Cola Live April 4 and the Capital One JamFest finale April 5. Alternative duo Twenty One Pilots, country group Zac Brown Band and a double bill of country hip-hop superstar Post Malone and surging pop country star Megan Moroney will headline April 3, 4 and 5, respectively.

Check out the schedule below:

April 3: 4:30-10 p.m.
April 4: 3:30-10 p.m.
April 5: 2-10 p.m.

The NCAA has also announced a Madness After Dark event, which will feature a DJ set from EDM duo The Chainsmokers, to take place after the April 4 performances. The event will run from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Indiana Rooftop Ballroom, located at 140 W. Washington St.

Men’s Final Four Dribble

April 5 at 1 p.m. Carroll Stadium (1001 W. New York St.) to Victory Field (501 W. Maryland St.). Free registration. Registration here and more info here.

Participants 18 and under will dribble a basketball along a one-mile course from IU Indianapolis’ Carroll Stadium to Victory Field. The first 3,000 to register will receive a t-shirt, basketball and free entry to the Final Four Fan Fest.

Men’s Final Four Tip-Off Tailgate

April 3-6. 126 E. Georgia St. Free entry. More info here.

Downtown Indianapolis will offer free watch parties for both the Men’s and Women’s Final Four along Georgia Street. The festivities will also include games, activations and giveaways.

April 3: 4-11 p.m.
April 4: 1-11 p.m.
April 5: noon-6 p.m.
April 6: 4-11 p.m.

Contact IndyStar Pop Culture Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X @hmb_1013.

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Indianapolis, IN

WRTV’s new owner promised more news. It fired the staff. | Opinion

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1 day ago

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April 2, 2026

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Press Room

WRTV’s new owner promised more news. It fired the staff. | Opinion

Circle City Broadcasting promised to serve the public, then gutted a newsroom after the federal government gave it a pass to violate an antimonopoly law.

Circle City Broadcasting, the parent company of WISH-TV and WNDY-TV, closed on a deal to buy WRTV for $83 million earlier this week. The deal went through after the federal government gave it a pass to violate an antimonopoly rule, claiming it would serve the public interest.

Mass layoffs at WRTV immediately followed. That’s bad for local journalism and is not in the public interest of Indianapolis viewers.

Circle City can’t blame finances for the layoffs

Immediately after Circle City Broadcasting purchased WRTV, former staff members reported on social media that they were fired along with a large portion of the WRTV staff.

Kyle Mounce, a meteorologist, said “the staff at WRTV was shown the door today.” Chief Meteorologist Todd Klaassen confirmed “essentially the entire staff was let go.” Nico Pennisi, a downtown Indianapolis community reporter, and Nicole Griffin, an anchor, both confirmed on social media it was their last day at WRTV.

There’s no doubt that broadcast media is facing a crisis of shrinking ratings. That has led to financial issues, consolidation and layoffs in the past.

However, Circle City Broadcasting made it very clear in FCC filings one of its main reasons for purchasing WRTV was to use the ABC affiliate to access advertising revenue. WRTV is also a higher-ranked station in the Indianapolis media market than Circle City Broadcasting’s own WISH-TV or WNDY-TV.

If the station has higher ratings and more access to advertising revenue, there’s no legitimate financial reason for laying off staff.

If around a dozen physical and digital print media publications can find ways to innovate and sustain themselves in Indianapolis, despite technological advancements and without treating their employees like indentured servants, so can broadcast media.

Circle City Broadcasting’s anticompetitive behavior

In Circle City Broadcasting’s case, the consolidation and mass layoffs reflect a troubling pattern.

The company has forced WISH-TV employees to sign wildly restrictive non-compete clauses, banning them from working in nearly any form of media — including social media and podcasts — for a year after leaving the station.

While such clauses are legal for now, they aren’t moral or consistent with free-market economics. The Indiana General Assembly recently invalidated similar types of agreements between hospitals and physicians.

The exchange between Circle City Broadcasting and E.W. Scripps, the former owner of WRTV, furthered both companies’ efforts to secure local media monopolies.

E.W. Scripps sold WRTV to help fund the reacquisition of 23 ION-affiliated stations it divested in 2021 to comply with FCC ownership rules. The company said it will “seek waivers from the FCC to the extent such rules are still in effect.”

Local news monopolies aren’t in the public interest

Circle City Broadcasting said it is committed “to investing the resulting increased revenue into the Stations to deliver even greater local news, sports, and public affairs programming.”

The company’s actions contradict that commitment. Circle City Broadcasting may as well have just bought the naming rights to the station or secured an affiliation agreement with another large media company.

That could have helped grow local journalism. Instead, a part of it was destroyed.

Dujuan McCoy, owner of Circle City Broadcasting, in a statement responding to a post I made on X claimed “following our initial transition, WRTV-ABC will increase to more than 30 hours of live local news and entertainment programming per week — distinct and separate from the 90 hours of WISH-TV’s content that we currently air.”

That would be seven more hours per week than WRTV was broadcasting before, according to McCoy — but it’s not consistent with immediately laying off the station’s staff, and it’s unclear how he plans to deliver on that promise with a decimated newsroom. More newscasting doesn’t equate to more original local journalism.

The work of journalists — discovering new information, elevating community voices and bringing attention to hyperlocal issues that would otherwise not be heard — cannot be replaced.

Contact Jacob Stewart at 317-444-4683 or jacob.stewart@indystar.com. Follow him on X, Instagram and TikTok.

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