[kornbread]

The much maligned Alamodome will host a men's sweet 16 regional in 2011.


http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/A..._regional.html

The NCAA on Monday awarded San Antonio a men’s basketball tournament regional in 2011, welcome news for a city that was bypassed in the last round of the Final Four bid process.

The regional will feature four of the remaining 16 teams in the tournament that year. Dates are set for March 25 and 27, 2011, at the Alamodome.

In a news release out of Indianapolis, the NCAA announced sites for preliminary rounds of the men’s tournament from 2011-13.

Even though San Antonio was virtually guaranteed a bid, the city submitted formal paperwork for the right to host tournaments in each of the three years.

Jenny Carnes, executive director of the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee, said it’s “great for the city’’ to get to host another tournament.

After hosting men’s Final Fours in 1998, 2004 and 2008, the city learned last November that it had been shut out of the next cycle from 2012-16.

“We may not have been awarded one of the Final Fours for the next rounds,’’ Carnes said, “but we certainly want to stay on their radar and stay in their sights for the future, so that we’ll have the next and earliest chance to bring back the Final Four to San Antonio.’’

The dome has hosted NCAA basketball tournament events regularly since 1997. It is now booked with one in each of the next two years.

The women’s Final Four will be held in the dome April 4 and 6, 2010.

The 2010 men’s Final Four will be at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with Reliant Stadium in Houston hosting the 2011 event. The 2012 Final Four is set for the Louisiana Superdome, and the 2013 Final Four at the Georgia Dome.