The Final Four is set to return to the Valley.
The NCAA announced Monday that the 2024 Final Four, which will conclude that season's NCAA men's basketball tournament, will take place at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. Arizona State has been named the host school of the event.
Watch the announcement here. (The 2024 announcement comes at about the 10-minute mark.)
The 2024 #FinalFour will be played in Phoenix!
🏟: University of Phoenix Stadium
Final Four History (1): 2017
Host: @TheSunDevils pic.twitter.com/g8zrJz9gNi— NCAA Final Four (@FinalFour) July 16, 2018
Glendale was the host of the 2017 Final Four, which was won by North Carolina. That event generated an estimated $324.5 million in economic impact for Arizona, per a study by ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
"They did a terrific job of hosting in 2017," Dan Gavitt, the NCAA's senior vice president of basketball, said about the decision to bring the Final Four back to the Valley. "Bringing the event back to the West Coast was really important to the committee... It was very much a fan-favorite place in April with the weather, and the facility is outstanding. So, the committee thought it was time to go back to Phoenix after their very successful last (time as) host."
The bid to bring the Final Four back to Arizona was a joint effort of the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee, the Arizona Cardinals and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, along with tourism bureaus and local municipalities.
"I could not be prouder that the NCAA has selected Phoenix to host another iconic Final Four," Arizona governor Doug Ducey said in a statement. "The Final Four is more than just great games, it's a spectacular opportunity for our statewide tourism industry and a platform to showcase Arizona to an international audience. We look forward to welcoming the teams and their fans to our state, which is quickly becoming the nation's No. 1 destination for major sporting events."
The PLOC is comprised of Debbie Johnson, director of the Arizona Office of Tourism; Ray Anderson, ASU athletic director; Dan Lewis, president and CEO of Native Insight; Steve Moore, president and CEO of Visit Phoenix; and Tom Sadler, president and CEO of the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, which owns University of Phoenix Stadium.
"This is a landmark day for ASU to host the iconic event for the second time," Anderson said in a statement. "We learned many useful lessons in 2017 and will apply our trademark innovation to provide an unforgettable experience for the NCAA, student-athletes, alumni and fans. We promise another amazing effort from the Sun Devil community and will shine again in 2024."
University of Phoenix Stadium has also been host to two Super Bowls, as well as the college football national championship game in January 2016. The 2023 Super Bowl will also take place at UOP Stadium.
The NCAA also announced Monday that the Final Four will take place in Houston in 2023, in San Antonio in 2025 and in Indianapolis in 2026.
The NCAA previously announced the locations of the Final Fours that will take place from 2019-22: Minneapolis in 2019, Atlanta in 2020, Indianapolis in 2012 and New Orleans in 2022.
These 4️⃣ cities will make more #FinalFour History! https://t.co/YvaQnItqxE pic.twitter.com/efcXu07NBb
— NCAA Final Four (@FinalFour) July 16, 2018
