Tampa, Phoenix chosen as women's Final Four sites

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 05: Breanna Stewart #30 of the Connecticut Huskies tips-off against Briana Day #50 of the Syracuse Orange at the start of the first quarter during the championship game of the 2016 NCAA Women's Final Four Basketball Champions

The NCAA women's Final Four is finally headed west again.

Phoenix will host the 2026 championship, the NCAA announced on Oct. 14. It will be the first time since 2012, when Denver was the host, that the women's Final Four will be in the Mountain or Western time zone. Tampa was awarded the 2025 Final Four, marking the fourth time that the Florida city will be the host. Tampa last hosted in 2019.

"Tampa Bay and Phoenix will be great future hosts for what has become America's marquee women's sporting event," said Nina King, chair of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee. "The committee appreciates all of the cities that were involved in the bid process and know that when we crown a national champion in those cities that our student-athletes, coaches and fans will have enjoyed an amazing championship experience."

Portland, Oregon, and Columbus, Ohio, were the other two finalists.

The next four Final Fours will be played in San Antonio, Minneapolis, Dallas and Cleveland. Dallas will also host the Division II and III titles in 2023.

The NCAA also announced the eight cities that will host regionals from 2023-26. The NCAA decided to move to a two-city regional format with eight teams at each site starting in 2023. Greenville, South Carolina, and Seattle will host regional play in 2023. Albany, New York, and Portland, Oregon, will host in 2024; Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington, in 2025; and Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, California, in 2026.

"This bid cycle was significant for Division I women's basketball as we were able to identify two outstanding future host cities for the Women's Final Four in 2025 and 2026 and named the eight regional host sites that will be part of our new two-site regional format that is in play beginning in 2023," said Lynn Holzman, vice president of women's basketball at the NCAA. "I am pleased that over the next six years we will play in several new markets, while providing enhanced hosting opportunities."

This year's Final Four was supposed to be in New Orleans but was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Reaction to selection

On her Twitter page, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallo tweeted about the hosting selection.

"We are thrilled to welcome everyone and show what #PHX is all about!" read a portion of the tweet.

Gov. Ducey also chimed in on his Twitter page.

"No state provides a better experience for fans and players," the tweet read, in part.

Chris Camacho, President and CEO of Greater Phoenix Economic Council credited Gov. Ducey for the result.

"I give a lot of credit to Governor Doug Ducey to ensure that we roll out the welcome mat," said Camacho. "We're known for being on the mega stage. We're very pro-business, but in addition to that, our cities, our facilities, convention centers, arenas are very attractive."

Phoenix area hosting other major events in the years ahead

Four major sporting events are set to take place in the Valley.

In 2020 and 2021, the NASCAR championship weekend will be held at the Phoenix Raceway. In 2023, State Farm Stadium in Glendale will host Super Bowl 57, and in 2024, the NCAA Men's Final Four will be played in Glendale as well.

"Say, Super Bowls, for example, or Waste Management Phoenix Open, you're gonna see between $300 million to $400 million in direct economic impact, in addition to that, these kinds of NCAA Final Fours, particularly the women's event, there's gonna be significant tens of thousands of room nights that come to the market, visitors from across the country that come here," said Camacho.

It's a definite boost to the tourism industry, Camacho says, which is crucial to recovering from the recession brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Mega sporting events happening in the Valley also influences investors who analyze Arizona's branding.

"When we're trying to recruit companies from California or New York or even Taiwan, in this case, today, they wanna know about the quality of life, they wanna know about kind of major events that we host," said Camacho.

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The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report.