Downtown Phoenix is abuzz with basketball fever and plenty of fan fun for locals to enjoy.

Why it matters: This is our first time hosting the women's Final Four.

The big picture: Most of the free fan action will take place in and around the Convention Center.

• Tourney Town is an indoor festival featuring carnival games, hoops-shooting contests, photo booths, giveaways, player appearances and more.
• Four It All Fest is a tailgate-style party on 3rd Street and it's a great place to watch the women's and men's semifinals games if you don't have tickets to watch in person.

Zoom in: I got an early look at the festivities, and these were the best things I saw:

• 🍺 A very well-stocked bar at the street fair for celebrating/drowning your sorrows during the games;
• 🏀 The "Chuck's Got Games" arcade, featuring Skee-Ball, hoops shooting and chances to win Charles Barkley-themed hats;
• 🥤 A Coca-Cola cherry float tasting booth (the Coke Zero version was divine);
• 🎉 A confetti photo booth;
• 👀 A Shaquille O'Neal hedge sculpture (I'd share a picture but it's kind of one of those things you have to see to believe).

What's next: Tourney Town has two can't-miss panel discussions tomorrow:

• A conversation with former Mercury star Brittney Griner at 11am.
• A joint appearance at 1pm by retired Mercury legend Diana Taurasi and her longtime rival and friend Sue Bird.

If you go: The indoor events run from 9am-4pm today, 9am-5pm tomorrow and 9am-noon on Sunday. The outdoor portion will remain open until the end of each night's games.

• Downtown parking will be expensive ($30 or more in most lots) and hard to find.
• Consider rideshare or light rail (which is free if you have tickets to one of the Final Four games).

Other fan events

The Final Four matchup between the Arizona Wildcats and the Michigan Wolverines may be the best game of March Madness.

Why it matters: The winner of tomorrow's game will play either Illinois or UConn for the national championship Monday.

Zoom in: The Cats are big and physical, and they attack their opponents in the paint on both ends of the floor.

• In a basketball world dominated by the 3-point line, the Cats favor high-percentage shots and don't attempt many 3s, though they shoot a fairly high percentage when they do.

Names to know: Versatile freshman forward Koa Peat and 7-foot-2 center Motiejus Krivas dominate in the paint, as does Tobe Awaka, who averages nearly a double-double off the bench.

• Freshman guard Brayden Burries is UofA's leading scorer, and senior point guard Jaden Bradley has been known to steal the show with a heroic shot.
• If the Cats need a critical 3-pointer, watch sharpshooter Anthony Dell'Orso.

Between the lines: The Wolverines are 1.5-point favorites.

When to watch: The game tips off Saturday at 5:49pm.

Bear down!

This week at the Capitol:

🐔 Homeowners associations would have to allow people to keep up to six chickens, not including roosters, in the backyards of single-family homes, and couldn't prohibit pets based on breed, size or weight under a new bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee.

🏘️ A new proposal would allow cities to require duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhomes in historic neighborhoods to meet certain design standards.

• A similar bill earlier in the session, which stalled last month, would've explicitly exempted historic neighborhoods from a 2024 "middle housing" law.

🎒 House Republicans gave preliminary approval to a Senate-passed bill to opt Arizona into a federal school voucher-style scholarship program.

• Gov. Hobbs, a critic of the state's Empowerment Scholarship Account program, hasn't said whether she'd sign the bill.

⚖️ The House approved legislation to bar people who commit certain crimes against children 15 and younger from having their probation terminated early. The bill now goes back to the Senate for a final vote.

🧓🏻 The state would spend $300,000 to create a virtual training program for dementia care under a bill approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

🗳️ Gov. Hobbs wouldn't say whether she'll debate her Republican opponent in the general election. She refused to debate Republican nominee Kari Lake in 2022. (Capitol Media Services)

⚖️ Todd Borowsky, brother of Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky, sued the city's police department over what he claims is a "sham investigation" into two strip clubs he owns. (AZcentral)

👀 Christina Marie Plante, who disappeared from Star Valley at the age of 13 more than 30 years ago, has been found alive.

• Authorities didn't say where or specifically how she was located. (New York Post)

🍝 il Bracco, a popular Texas-based Italian restaurant, opened its first Arizona location in Scottsdale. (Arizona's Family)

If you're looking for a scenic event space, a spot for a family picnic or a good place to start a hike, the new South Mountain Activity Complex may be it.

State of play: After more than two years of work, the city of Phoenix unveiled the new activity center, off Central Avenue near the South Mountain Visitor Center.

Zoom in: The complex's centerpiece is a half-acre shaded pavilion, which city officials touted as a great place for big events like weddings and graduations, with mountains on one side and an expansive view of the city on the other.

• Eight smaller pavilions throughout the complex are connected by ADA-compliant walking paths.
• The landscaping includes about 250 new trees and 700 new shrubs, per parks and recreation director Marty Whitfield.

Take a hike