EL PASO, Texas -- It is all coming into place.

"Staging is going in, we put the floor covering down, the seats, sound, video, all the technical requirements that are needed for a great event for tomorrow," said Carol Roberts-Spence with UTEP Special Events.

Roberts-Spence expects a full house at the Don Haskins Center to say goodbye to the man the arena is named after.

"The doors open at five, and it's a first come, first serve basis," said Roberts-Spence.

Those on the UTEP campus said they plan on getting there early, even if the event doesn't start until 6:30 p.m.

"He contributed a lot to UTEP, so I am sure there is going to be a very big turnout, and not just for El Paso," said Celeste Porras from East El Paso.

"I might try to show up early, get there on time, just try to make it," said Peter Nino from East El Paso.

Around town on Wednesday, local businesses showed their support for the coach any way they could. With signs as simple as "Thank you Don Haskins," to the one at AJ's Uniforms that said, "Farewell to 'The Bear.'"

"We owe a lot to him, you know, and he represents UTEP, he represents El Paso, he is El Paso and he will always be El Paso," said Jonathon Borunda with AJ's Uniforms.

El Pasoans appreciated the effort.

"He was a pretty big name here, so I think it's very cool that everybody is doing that. When we were driving down Mesa and we saw a couple signs, we thought that was pretty cool," said Arrielle Acosta from Santa Teresa.

There is a long list of people expected to speak Thursday night, among them Nolan Richardson, Billy Gillispie and Tim Floyd. Pat Riley was originally scheduled to speak, however he had to cancel because of a scheduling conflict.