The NCAA announced on Wednesday March Madness tournament sites and host cities from 2023 through 2026.
Among the notable decisions, the NCAA has chosen Las Vegas as a host city in 2023.
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March Madness’ official Twitter account posted the following shortly after the release:
“While the NCAA seeks federal legislation to better regulate sports wagering, particularly to safeguard college sports competitions, we are excited to bring our national championships to Las Vegas,” said Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball. “The city has hosted numerous championships sponsored by our member conferences, and the experience of the teams and fans has been overwhelmingly positive. We anticipate that being the case for our championships as well.”
UNLV will serve as the host of the 2023 regional. Games will be played at T-Mobile Arena, an 18,000-seat host of NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.
Though the NCAA’s decision to host a championship event in Las Vegas was expected, the selection is still significant. The state of Nevada was previously prohibited from hosting championship events due to its legalization of sports betting.
However, in May 2018, the NCAA lifted its ban after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all states could allow legalized sports wagering. The NCAA’s policy that prohibits gambling sponsorships and advertising at championship events remains in place.
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.