SELECTED CITIES WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN NOVEMBER

ST. LOUIS – Jan. 27, 2014 – The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee announced that St. Louis is among the finalist cities to host a future Men’s Final Four.  St. Louis made the initial cut to be one of eight communities in the running for the event during its next open cycle – 2017 to 2020.

The other finalists are Atlanta, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, North Texas, Phoenix/Glendale and San Antonio.  Click here to view the news release distributed by the NCAA.

The St. Louis Sports Commission, Missouri Valley Conference, St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission and the Edward Jones Dome are spearheading the region’s Final Four bid effort.  Since last October, the partners have collaborated to provide the NCAA requested information during the preliminary phase of the bid process.  This included submitting a declaration of intent to bid, a draft budget, hotel rates, and confirmation of adherence to the NCAA’s bid specifications.  St. Louis representatives then met with the NCAA men’s basketball staff and select committee members in December.

Final bids are due to the NCAA in May.  The men’s basketball committee and staff will visit each finalist city in August, September and October.  City representatives will then make in-person presentations in Indianapolis in early November.  The announcement of the winning bids will occur later that month.

When evaluating prospective hosts, the committee will review each city’s competition venue, transportation and lodging, and the region’s overall commitment to the event.  For the Men’s Final Four, venues must hold a minimum of 60,000 fans, and host cities or regions must be able to provide at least 10,000 full-service hotel rooms within reasonable proximity to the competition venue.

St. Louis last hosted the Men’s Final Four in 2005.  Since 1998, St. Louis has hosted an impressive 10 NCAA postseason basketball events, including six Regionals (1998, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2012), one preliminary round (2002), two Women’s Final Fours (2001 and 2009) and the Men’s Final Four.  Additionally, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Second/Third Rounds, hosted by the Missouri Valley Conference, will take place at Scottrade Center March 21 and 23.  Tickets are available and may be purchased at www.ncaa.com/mbbtickets.