Albany will play host to two major sporting events in the next few years.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy tweeted Wednesday the downtown Times Union Center will host the 2015 Division I NCAA women’s basketball tournament regional championships and the 2016 Division I men’s ice hockey east regional.
The arena hasn’t hosted NCAA tourney games since 2003, when Syracuse came through en route to a national championship, but has been angling to host events again after losing its bid for the 2014 and 2015 men’s tournaments this past November.
Its capacity is well below that of other regional arenas like Syracuse’s Carrier Dome and Madison Square Garden. Host cities are usually crammed during tournaments with an influx of teams, media and fans.
