‘It’d be a huge deal’: NCAA visits Sacramento amid Women’s Final Four bidding
Basketball has a home at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center with the Kings, sectional and state high school championship events and a slice of March Madness this spring.
Might the NCAA Women’s Final Four cap basketball seasons later this decade at Golden 1?
That’s what a crew of NCAA officials and representatives from tourism bureau Visit Sacramento discussed Tuesday and Wednesday as Sacramento looks to secure a host slot between 2027 and 2031. The NCAA crew was given a tour of Sacramento, particularly restaurants, hotels and throughout Golden 1 Center, which was built in six years ago with the design to attract major events. Local elected officials also visited with the NCAA group and Visit Sacramento.
“It’d be a huge deal if we got this and we think we can get it,” said Mike Testa, the CEO of Visit Sacramento, the organization that oversees the Sacramento Sports Commission and is serving as the lead to sell Sacramento to the NCAA.”
Testa and Lynn Holzman, the vice president of NCAA Women’s Basketball, said a crucial selling point is ensuring that the last four college teams in the women’s tournament have a memorable experience and that it is equitable to the men’s Final Four in terms of venue, hospitality and accommodations.
“We’re not a huge market,” Testa said. “A big event like this can own the city. Sports do really well in this city, and Golden 1 Center is state of the art. That helps our chances. This arena sells itself.”
Holzman of the NCAA raved about Golden 1 Center, calling it, “absolutely beautiful.”
She added, “The NCAA championships are a once-in-a-lifetime thing. We want a partnership with a city that gives us that. Women’s basketball is a big hit. We’ll sell out all Final Fours. It’s worth watching.”
Holzman said the NCAA’s goal is to make its Final Four, “the mega, elite, premier women’s basketball event in the world.”
The other bidding cities are Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Indianapolis, Portland, San Antonio and Tampa Bay. The bids will be announced in November.
“There are highly, highly competitive bids,” Holzman said. “It’s a great testament to this event.”
Testa said the Women’s Final Four, with two national semifinals and the championship game, would boost the local economy, particularly downtown, with millions of dollars expected to be paid for lodging, food, transportation and general sales.
An NCAA women’s regional will be hosted by Golden 1 Center in 2026.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 6:38 AM.