Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament Returning To Salt Lake City In 2024
Oct 14, 2020, 11:57 AM | Updated: 12:07 pm
An NCAA March Madness basketball court is pictured at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 18, 2019. The Arena will host the first round of the tournament this weekend. (Steve Griffin, Deseret News)
(Steve Griffin, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is coming back to Salt Lake City. NCAA released new host venues for upcoming March Madness tournaments on Wednesday.
Salt Lake City, which has a rich history of being an NCAA Tournament host, is back in the mix for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
2024 1st/2nd round sites: Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Memphis, Omaha, Indy, Salt Lake, Spokane. Regionals: Boston, Detroit, Dallas and Los Angeles.
— David Worlock (@DavidWorlock) October 14, 2020
The last time the NCAA Tournament made its way to Utah was in 2019, the most recent tournament to be played. Games were played at the Vivint Arena and are presumed to be there in 2024 as well.
Salt Lake City will host games in the first and second rounds of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, joining Brooklyn, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Memphis, Omaha, Pittsburgh, and Spokane.
Salt Lake City’s history hosting NCAA Basketball Tournament
This will be the 17th time in the NCAA Tournament history that Salt Lake City will host first and second-round action. Salt Lake has also played host to regionals on three different occasions in 1971, 1981, and, most recently, in 2010, Butler led by former Jazzman Gordon Hayward won to advance to the Final Four.
In 1979, Salt Lake City hosted the Final Four that featured one of the more iconic National Championship games college basketball had ever produced when Michigan State and Magic Johnson took on Larry Bird and his Indiana State Sycamores.
Dates and times will be released at a later date.
Las Vegas lands opportunity to host
One of the notable host venues that the NCAA revealed in its future sites for tournaments from 2023-2026 included first-time host, Las Vegas.
2024 1st/2nd round sites: Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Memphis, Omaha, Indy, Salt Lake, Spokane. Regionals: Boston, Detroit, Dallas and Los Angeles.
— David Worlock (@DavidWorlock) October 14, 2020
Vegas will host first and second-round action for the 2023 NCAA Basketball Tournament. It will be the first-time Vegas has played host to an NCAA-sanctioned event.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m., KSL Newsradio). Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
