With major renovations to the downtown Times Union Center nearly complete, the city of Albany secured a long-awaited booking on Tuesday. The NCAA announced that the Division I men’s basketball tournament will return to the county-owned arena in three years for the first time since 2003. Albany’s first- and second-round games are slated for March 19 and 21st, 2020.
The arena is undergoing a $30 million renovation. Michele Vennard is the president of the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“It's 159,000 square feet of space between the Empire State Plaza, Capital Center and Times Union Center that can be used for events such as this,” she said.
Albany was also selected to host a 2019 Division I women’s basketball tournament regional.
Hartford, Conn. was selected as a 2019 men's tourney host, the first time in more than two decades that the XL Center will host games.
