St. Louis selected to host NCAA regional finals in 2010

ST. LOUIS -- Another major college sports event is coming to St. Louis.

The NCAA announced Thursday that the Gateway City will be the site of men's basketball regional semifinals and finals March 26 through 29, 2010. Meanwhile, Kansas City will host first- and second-round tournament games in 2009.

The games in St. Louis will be played at the Edward Jones Dome. In addition to St. Louis, the other three regionals in 2010 will be played in Syracuse, N.Y., Salt Lake City and Houston. The Final Four in 2010 will be in Indianapolis.

St. Louis has become something of a hot spot for NCAA events. The city is also hosting the men's regional semifinals and finals next year along with NCAA hockey's "Frozen Four."

In 2009, St. Louis will be the site for the NCAA women's Final Four, an event that was at the Savvis Center in 2001.

The city hosted the men's Final Four in 2005. The Edward Jones Dome was also home to regionals in 2001 and 2004.

In September, the city learned it will host the NCAA wrestling championships in 2008 and 2009, making it five such tournaments this decade. St. Louis previously hosted the wrestling championships at the Savvis Center in 2000, 2004 and 2005.

Overall, since 1998, St. Louis will have hosted nine major NCAA events.

"That clearly makes St. Louis one of the more frequent stops on the NCAA trail," said Doug Elgin, commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference. The MVC, the St. Louis Sports Commission and the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission make up the St. Louis Local Organizing Committee that seeks to lure NCAA events to the region.

Key selling points include St. Louis' central location, a large indoor venue in the Edward Jones Dome for bigger events and the Savvis Center for smaller ones, and an abundance of lodging.