NCAA Names '17-21 Final Four Sites, Including New Stadiums, First-Time Host Phoenix

CHRISTENING THE VIKING SHIP: In Minneapolis, Mike Kaszuba noted city officials "wasted little time Friday touting" the new Vikings stadium "as the primary reason for the city’s selection." Mortenson Construction President David Mortenson, who chaired the city's Final Four bid committee, said that the NCAA had told city officials as recently as '09 that the Metrodome "was no longer adequate for the Final Four and that the city 'might as well not submit again' unless a new facility was built." He added the new stadium was the "darling of our victory." Bid committee officials said that the event’s costs "would be paid privately." Mortenson said that a "Sweet 16" group of local companies -- including Mortenson Construction -- "would help with financing." He added that Friday’s news "also likely meant that the new stadium would host an NCAA men’s basketball regional event" in '18 (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/15). Also in Minneapolis, Randy Furst noted the Final Four "is the latest hot-ticket sporting event to come to Minnesota," joining the '14 MLB All-Star Game, the '18 Super Bowl and the '16 Ryder Cup. Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority Chair Michele Kelm-Helgen said that landing the Super Bowl and the Final Four "even before the new Vikings stadium is completed could lead to other groups choosing it for major events, including music festivals and conventions." She added that the MSFA "will now turn its attention" to attracting the College Football Championship Game (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/16).

Falcons' new $1.2B stadium helped Atlanta land '20 Final Four

GEORGIA ON MY MIND: In Atlanta, Tim Tucker noted the NCAA decided to play the '20 Final Four "in a venue not yet built," as the Falcons' $1.2B retractable-roof stadium "is in the early stages of construction downtown" and slated to open in '17. NCAA reps "visited Atlanta in August to learn about the new stadium and other aspects of the city’s pitch." The Atlanta bid group -- consisting of reps of the Atlanta Sports Council, the Falcons, the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Georgia Tech and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority -- "was in Indianapolis on Tuesday for a final presentation to NCAA officials" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 11/15). The Atlanta reps said that their pitch "focused on the new stadium and its convenient proximity to the Congress Center, hotels and new attractions" such as the College Football HOF and the Center for Civil and Human Rights (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 11/15).

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST: In Phoenix, Jeff Metcalfe noted the NCAA by selecting the city to host the '17 event "is bringing the men's Final Four west of Texas for the first time" since '95, when it was held at the Kingdome in Seattle. Key selling points for Phoenix in this bid "included the expanded Phoenix Convention Center and additional hotels in downtown Phoenix, the light-rail system and a track record of hosting the Super Bowl and major college bowl games at University of Phoenix Stadium." Phoenix "made an unsuccessful bid for one of the men's Final Fours" in '12-16, sites that were awarded in '08, and "failed to land" the '07 Women's Final Four, a decision made in '01. Many of the Phoenix local organizing committee members from the previous men's bid -- including ASU Senior Associate AD Dawn Rogers -- "continued to work on an improved bid over the past six years" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/15). Meanwhile, in San Antonio, Tim Griffin noted proposed improvements at the Alamodome "were the difference" in securing the '18 Final Four. The venue previously hosted the Final Four in '98, '04 and '08, but city leaders "were snubbed several months after the last time the Final Four came to San Antonio after concerns about limited space on the Alamodome's concourses and limited space for media and ancillary events" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 11/15).

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: In Indianapolis, Mark Alesia noted when the city hosts the Final Four in '21, it "will be the eighth time the event has been in the city." A "lingering question" was why the NCAA "added a year to what had been a bid cycle of four years." NCAA VP/Men's Basketball Championship Dan Gavitt in a statement said awarding the '21 event to Indianapolis, home to the NCAA's HQ, "presented the committee an opportunity to select four other cities." Alesia noted the move "also might have been made to head off cries of foul from Indy." An '04 memorandum of understanding says the NCAA "will ensure that during any five-year period" the city will host five of the group's events, including the men's Final Four. It will be six years between the city's '15 and '21 Final Fours, but "there were only four years between" the '06 and '10 Final Fours in Indy (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 11/15).

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME: CBSSPORTS.com’s Matt Norlander wrote in terms of “high reputations and logistically sound choices, the past two decades have seen New Orleans, Indianapolis and San Antonio earn the highest reputations for hosting Final Fours and doing them well." It is a "bit of a disappointment that New Orleans won't get the chance to hold a Final Four" before '22 (CBSSPORTS.com, 11/14). In New Orleans, Trey Iles wrote it has "been a rough 11 months" for the city, and losing out on its Final Four bids "was another blow." New Orleans "lost out to Phoenix (2016) and Tampa (2017) for the College Football Playoff championship game and Minneapolis for the 2018 Super Bowl." Other cities “are coming hard for those events with new stadiums and big bucks." Sources said that without "more financial backing from the state or a new stadium, New Orleans will likely struggle to win back the premiere national sporting events" (NOLA.com, 11/14). Iles wrote, "The problem is the Louisiana legislature isn't willing to put up necessary resources -- mainly money -- to bring in the events." Instead, it is "left to the local organizing committee to cobble together the package and it's painfully obvious it can't battle state tax money like Texas is offering" (NOLA.com, 11/15). Meanwhile, Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner Doug Elgin, who helped on St. Louis' unsuccessful Final Four bid, said that in past years, the NCAA "has provided feedback on unsuccessful bids and he expects that to happen again." He added that when the next bid process arrives in a few years, St. Louis "will probably be in the mix again" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/15).