Atlanta prepares for the Final Four

ATLANTA — Roads are being closed and security is beefed up in downtown Atlanta as the city prepares for thousands of people to flood the area for the NCAA Final Four this weekend.

Park Avenue West is already blocked off, but as the weekend progresses, more streets will be blocked through Sunday.

Also contributing to traffic congestion are free concerts by artists such as Sting, Muse, Dave Matthews Band and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis being held in Centennial Park beginning Friday afternoon.

There will be 800 officers on duty over the next few days, and another several hundred will be on standby. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed told Channel 2's Ryan Young the city is ready to be in the spotlight for the event.

"This is what we do," he told Young.

Young learned a vast network of cameras, officers and federal law enforcement officers are part of the security plan.

A big story of the weekend is Rockford County High School graduate Kevin Ware making the trip to Atlanta with his Louisville teammates. Ware had surgery this week after suffering a gruesome broken leg during Sunday's game against Duke.

Channel 2's Amanda Cook was at his Buckhead hotel when he arrived, waving to fans from his wheelchair.

In an interview with ABC News, Ware said he will never watch the recording of his injury.

"I kind of feel like, if I see the video it will just hold me back mentally from where I need to be, trying to recover from this. That's the last thing I want if I want to be on the basketball court again," Ware said.

WSBTV