Las Vegas to host NCAA Men’s Final Four for first time ever
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The NCAA announced on Tuesday that Las Vegas is set to host the Division 1 Men’s Final Four tournament for the first time ever.
According to the NCAA, the committee has selected Las Vegas to host the 2028 Final Four, marking the first time the event will be held in the city.
The games will be held at Allegiant Stadium, the NCAA said.
“The Raiders are thrilled to welcome the NCAA and college basketball fans from around the world to Las Vegas and our home at Allegiant Stadium,” said Sandra Douglass Morgan, president of the Las Vegas Raiders and Las Vegas NCAA Final Four bid team. “Our facility is a state-of-the-art, ideal venue for world-class sporting events.”
“We are excited to bring the NCAA’s premier championship to Las Vegas, a city that for a number of years has hosted numerous championships from several member conferences,” said Chris Reynolds, athletics director at Bradley and the chair of the committee. “The feedback from leagues, the fans of their teams and the media covering the events staged there has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are confident we’ll get the same reviews when the Men’s Final Four is played at Allegiant Stadium.”
Hosting the Final Four was not possible for Las Vegas until 2019 when the NCAA overturned a policy which prevented college championship games from taking place in state’s that offer sports gambling.
“It has been a seismic shift in the attitude in the sports world to Las Vegas,” UNLV hospitality professor Amanda Belarmino said. “For years we were off limits. Sports gambling becoming legalized across the United States has really helped us in ways I don’t think we could have imagined in terms of landing these events.”
Las Vegas hosting the 2028 Final Four will come following the city being host to a Formula 1 race in 2023 and the NFL’s Super Bowl LVIII in 2024.
“The Final Four is one of the marquee events in sports and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to be the host in 2028,” said Steve Hill, CEO/President of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “The excitement of Final Four basketball combined with the energy of Las Vegas will create an unforgettable experience for teams and fans alike. We can’t wait to welcome the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship to the Greatest Arena on Earth.”
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