• Week 10 H.S. Football Scores
• 5th Quarter Show
• Game of the Week
• Ceremony At Central Hospital
• Breaking Into A Church Is A Charge Until Itself
• Celebs And Veterans On Hand To See Museum Expansion
• School Lunch Menu for Friday, November 13
• Leesville Toyota Play of the Night
• Warrant To Seize ACORNS Computers And Records
• All Star Band of the Week

New Orleans-Final Four
11/19/08 - 05:49 PM
 RSS Feed

    NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Louisiana Superdome will host its fifth
men’s basketball Final Four tournament in 2012, the NCAA announced
on Wednesday.
    New Orleans was one of five cities selected as sites for the
event from 2012 through 2016.
    The city’s rebuilding effort since Hurricane Katrina struck in
2005 and the renovation of the Superdome that followed the storm
impressed the committee that selected the sites, said Southeastern
Conference Commissioner and NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball
Committee Chairman Mike Slive.
    “There are significant improvements to the Superdome,” Slive
said. “And there is strong leadership in the community. Besides
that, New Orleans has a proven track record and is a fan
favorite.”
    The Superdome also hosted Final Fours in 1982, 1987 and 1993.
    The 2012 game is just part of a string of big sporting events
headed to the city, according to Superdome spokesman Bill Curl.
    New Orleans will host a NCAA men’s basketball regional in the
Superdome in 2011. The first- and second-round tournament games are
scheduled in the New Orleans Arena in 2010. And the arena will be
the site of the Women’s Final Four in 2013.
    The Bowl Championship Series title game for football will also
be in the Superdome in 2012, Curl said.
    “And we’re anticipating a Super Bowl bid probably in 2013 and
there is talk of getting another NBA All Star game,” Curl said.
“New Orleans is certainly becoming a sports capital.”
    New Orleans is known for its ability to host big events, said
Michael Hecht, president and chief executive of Greater New
Orleans, Inc., a regional economic development organization. But
landing the Final Four is also evidence of the rebound the area has
made post-Katrina.
    “I think everyone knows our unparalleled ability to host big
events,” Hecht said. “But for those who still think we’re under
water, this will show them we definitely are not.”
    By 2012, the city will have close to - if not more - hotel rooms
than before Katrina, said Mary Beth Romig, a spokeswoman for the
New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. Included
in that number should be the renovated Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and
the Hyatt, which is next to the Superdome. Both hotels have been
closed since the hurricane.
    “Another benefit is that any time we’re awarded a major event,
it influences others who may be looking for a convention site,”
Romig said. “An announcement like this could sway meeting planners
who know how competitive these bids are and how carefully the
selections are made.”
    An NCAA Final Four normally generates between $50 million and
$75 million, Hecht said.
    “In New Orleans people tend to spend two to three times what
they spend in other cities, simply because of the breadth of our
attractions,” Hecht said. “For instance, the NBA All Star game
generated $90 million here, the year before in Atlanta people spent
$34 million.
    In addition to New Orleans in 2012, the NCAA also awarded Final
Fours to Atlanta in 2013, Dallas in 2014, Indianapolis in 2015 and
Houston in 2016.
    Also competing to host the tournaments were Detroit,
Minneapolis, Phoenix and St. Louis.