Alabama, Georgia teams arrive in Indianapolis, 100k fans expected

INDIANAPOLIS — Alabama and Georgia teams arrived Friday evening and both are focused on winning the National Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday.

More than 100,000 fans are expected to arrive this weekend.

The City of Indianapolis has been preparing for months and several free events are in place for fans who want to be a part of the experience.

The College Football Playoff Indianapolis Host Committee says tickets are sold out for the game. COVID-19 is a concern, but the committee says there is plenty of space for fans to have fun and be safe.

Inside the Indiana Convention Center, you can see the Heisman trophy, have a photo op with massive football statues or play games.

Georgia Street will have strolling pianos, magicians, ice carvers, concert streams and warming stations in addition to the world's largest scoreboard.

Morgan Snyder with the Indianapolis Host Committee says it took four years of planning to make hosting the College Football National Championship game a success.

"It's crazy to think four years later the weekend is here, but we are ready to go and roll out the red carpet for all the Georgia and Alabama fans headed our way and of course all of our residents here in Indianapolis," said Snyder.

With the large amount of people expected downtown, there are concerns the game will be a super spreader event.

Director of Public Events Ryan Allenhall says precautions are in place.

"Their concerns are valid, but we are in a nice large space. Yes, it is indoors but we have high ceilings, we have spaced things out so people feel like they have room to move about and not be on top of each other. The Indiana Convention Center does it better than anybody. We learned a lot from March Madness and we work closely with local health directors and health leaders to make sure we are going to do this event in the right way," said Allenhall.

Snyder says there will be a vaccination station on Washington Street for fans or residents along with a heating station as temperatures are expected to be below freezing.

"We want this to be a safe, seamless event for everyone. We are really encouraging everyone to mask up, bundle up and head to any of these free events," said Snyder.