This weekend, the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament returns to Albany, where four teams will battle in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

Local businesses are already seeing a boost. Albany's Convention and Visitor Bureau says 1,500 rooms have been booked in downtown Albany.

It took about half a day Monday for crews to put the court together inside the Times Union Center.

This year’s regional tournament will feature Saturday matchups between No. 1 seed Connecticut and Duke, and defending national champion South Carolina and Buffalo.

The Visitor Bureau is also projecting business sales in the city to reach $1.1 million this weekend into Monday for the regional final.

“The month of March, we started with a high school wrestling tournament and then we had the MAAC tournament, and so the sports keep on coming," said Georgette Steffens, executive director of BID. "They are selling tickets, booking hotel rooms, and it's been good business for all of our restaurants, coffee shops, retailers here in downtown."

According to the Times Union Center, 7,000 tickets have already been sold for each regional game.