On November 22, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee announced that the 2028 Final Four will take place in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium.
The two-day event encompasses the final two rounds in the NCAA men’s basketball national championship, and is usually considered to be one of the biggest sporting events in the U.S. For the first time ever, Las Vegas will play host to the event, which is scheduled for April 1 and 3, 2028.
In a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Chris Reynolds, who is chair of the selection committee and the athletic director for Bradley University, said that he was excited about the announcement because Las Vegas is “a city that for a number of years has hosted numerous championships from several member conferences.”
The Final Four is the latest in a series of high-profile sporting events to be announced for Allegiant, which recently hosted the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl and is scheduled to host it again in 2023. The 2024 Super Bowl is also slated to take place at the 65,000-seat, $2 billion stadium.
Sandra Douglass Morgan, president of the Las Vegas Raiders, said in a statement that the Raiders “are thrilled to welcome the NCAA and college basketball fans from around the world to Las Vegas and our home at Allegiant Stadium. Our facility is a state-of-the-art, ideal venue for world-class sporting events.”
The city will get a small-scale taste of the action next year, as T-Mobile Arena will host the West Regional games next March.
In addition to basketball, Las Vegas will host a number of other collegiate championships in the coming years, including the men’s Division I golf regional in 2023, the women’s regional in 2024 and the Frozen Four, which is the men’s hockey equivalent to the Final Four, in 2026.
“The excitement of Final Four basketball combined with the energy of Las Vegas will create an unforgettable experience for teams and fans alike,” Steve Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said in a release. “We can’t wait to welcome the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship to the Greatest Arena on Earth.”
