West Conshohocken, PA (December 1, 2014) - SMG-managed facilities were awarded four bids when the NCAA
announced host sites for upcoming NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball
Championships last month. The Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, La.) was
selected to host the Women’s Final Four in 2020 and the Denny Sanford PREMIER
Center (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Stockton Center (Stockton, Calif.) and Chesapeake
Energy Arena (Oklahoma City, Okla.) were selected as hosts for upcoming
regional play.
“We appreciate the NCAA’s continued confidence in
SMG-managed facilities to host women’s basketball championships at the highest
level. The venues awarded championships worked tirelessly to secure these bids,
and will work diligently to ensure the fans, athletic departments and
student-athletes have an unforgettable experience during their time at our
venues,” said Doug Thornton, Executive Vice-President Stadiums and Arenas.
The Smoothie King Center in New Orleans will host the
Women’s Final Four for a record fourth time in 2020, with games played April 3
and April 5. The arena previously hosted national championships in 2004 and
2013.
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, which opened earlier this
year, was awarded its first bid for 2016, which will also be the first
championship games ever played in the state of South Dakota. The Stockton
Center also received its first hosting opportunity in 2017.
“The committee continues to look for new markets and venues
in which to play the championship and were pleased that new hosts like Sioux
Fall and Stockton joined the other more veteran sites in providing a home for
our championship,” said Dru Hancock, chair of the Division I Women’s Basketball
Committee and senior associate commission at the Big 12 Conference.
Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., will serve
as a host site in 2017. It had previously hosted regionals in 2008, 2009 and
2013.
