INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time since 2008, the NCAA is bringing its marquee event to the Alamo City.
The Division I Men’s Basketball Committee announced Friday that San Antonio was among five cities selected from eight finalists to host the Final Four for the years 2017-21.
Other cities chosen by the committee to host in future years include Phoenix in 2017, Minneapolis in 2019 and Atlanta in 2020. The committee also elected to award the 2021 Final Four to Indianapolis, which, as the home of the NCAA headquarters, has a unique long-term contractual relationship that guarantees the Men’s Final Four will be held regularly in the city.
The bid cycle originally was slated to cover the 2017-20 Final Fours.
San Antonio, which has hosted the event three times in 1998, 2004 and '08, was selected to host in 2018. Renovations, including expanded concourses and improved interior technology, are planned for the Alamodome, which will become the sixth facility to host at least four Final Fours, and there will be a seating capacity of up to 72,000. Based on the 2014 Men’s Final Four held in North Texas, the event is expected to have an economic impact of more than $85 million.
“This is great news and I want to thank the NCAA for selecting San Antonio as a site for the Men’s Final Four and confirming that San Antonio is one of the best cities in the nation, if not the best city, for hosting a Final Four,” San Antonio Mayor Ivy R. Taylor said. “I want to thank and commend the hard work of the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee which includes UTSA, San Antonio Sports and our city staff. Once again, all that makes San Antonio special will be showcased across the country and around the world.”
“NCAA fans love coming to San Antonio for this marquee event and our city has the perfect setup for all the Final Four has to offer,” San Antonio Sports President & CEO Russ Bookbinder said. “We look forward to hosting an outstanding event that is so much more than a basketball game.”
“We're very excited that we have another opportunity to host the Final Four here in San Antonio,” UTSA Athletics Director Lynn Hickey said. “This means a tremendous amount to our university and to the visibility of UTSA. San Antonio is a great site for this event and the NCAA Tournament in general. We are honored to be the host institution for one of the best sporting events in the nation. The San Antonio Local Organizing Committee is an excellent collaboration of hard-working and committed people. The city has made an outstanding commitment to upgrade the Alamodome and when you put all of the other things that we have — the proximity of our hotels to the facility, the River Walk, the staff that knows how to run this tournament well — it's just a win-win. It's well deserved and we will do a great job as hosts.”
The Valley of the Sun will play host to the event at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., in 2017, becoming the first western city selected since Seattle staged the Final Four in 1995.
Two buildings currently under construction will host the 2019 and 2020 Final Fours.
Minneapolis most recently hosted the Final Four in 2001, and will stage the event for the fourth time in 2019 at the new Minnesota Multi-Purpose Stadium. This will be the city’s third venue to crown a National Champion. Williams Arena hosted the national title game in 1951, while the Metrodome hosted the Final Four in 1992 and again in 2001.
The Final Four will return to Atlanta for the fifth time in 2020, when new Atlanta Stadium, which is currently under construction, becomes the third venue to host the event in the city. The Omni hosted the Final Four in 1977, while the Georgia Dome was the site in 2002, 2007 and 2013. Atlanta will be the seventh city to host at least five championship games.
Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium is hosting the 2015 Final Four and 2021 will mark the eighth time the city has staged the event. That ranks second only to Kansas City, which hosted the Final Four 10 times from 1940-1988.
The other finalists for this round of Final Fours were New Orleans, North Texas and St. Louis.
“Speaking for the entire committee, I can’t express enough gratitude to each of the representatives of the finalist cities,” said Scott Barnes, vice president and athletics director at Utah State and chair of the Division I men’s basketball committee. “They invested so much time and resources over the past year to make sure that each prospective host put its best foot forward.
“Everything from the communication with the staff throughout the process, to the site visits that committee and staff members conducted in August and September, to the final in-person presentations held by each finalist’s representatives this week was truly exceptional. To say that we were thoroughly impressed with each city is a gross understatement.
“Ultimately we had to consider every aspect of each bid and go through a voting process no different than when this group meets in March to select teams for the NCAA tournament. We feel great about how those votes turned out and are confident this terrific event is in good hands for the foreseeable future. We are going to new buildings, cities that are universally loved for hosting great Final Fours and we are heading West for the first time in more than 20 years.”
Barnes said that the national nature of the tournament is emphasized in the committee’s decisions.
“The fact we had sites selected from the West, South, North, East and Midwest and have five sites in three different time zones is reflected in the votes,” he said. “The discussion during this meeting centered on growing the game of college basketball and, most importantly, creating a positive experience for student-athletes and fans. We think we’ve accomplished that, and we’re obviously very excited.”