MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Tigers, Grizzlies and guitars, oh my! It's almost New Year's Eve in the Bluff City. Thousands of people are already in downtown Memphis, and even more are heading that way.
Since Wednesday, crews on Beale Street have been busy, getting everything ready for one of the biggest weekends of the year.
Martha Gonzalez with the Hard Rock Café said, "It's been a journey; we started setting up the scaffolding on Wednesday and we finished and the guitar is up and we're ready to welcome the New Year with the New Year's Eve celebration."
It's not just the famous guitar drop that's bringing thousands of people to the historic Memphis entertainment district.
After the Liberty Bowl parade and pep rally Friday afternoon, the Memphis Grizzlies play at FedExForum that night. Cincinnati and Vanderbilt face of at The Liberty Bowl Saturday. Then back at FedExForum, the Memphis Tigers play basketball just hours before the big guitar drop on Beale Street.
"We want to be able to give the experience and excitement to the people visiting and the people from Memphis," Gonzalez said.
A big part of that is keeping the thousands here celebrating safe the entire weekend.
"Tomorrow will be the big night, New Year's Eve," said Lt. William Woodard with Memphis Police. He estimated over 100 uniformed officers to be patrolling the area, directing traffic, and assisting pedestrians. "There's a lot of activities and it seems downtown is the ground zero for New Year's Eve."
