General

UALR to host NCAA 1st & 2nd Rounds in 2008: Alltel Arena to host event


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The University of Arkansas-Little Rock will host the first and second rounds of the 2008 NCAA Basketball Championships at Alltel Arena. The event will mark the first time an NCAA men's basketball tournament game will be played in the state of Arkansas.

 

Alltel ArenaEight teams will play six games on March 21 and 23, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Regional Championships.

 

"It's a privilege and an honor for UALR to host an NCAA tournament event," UALR athletics director Chris Peterson said. "This event would not be possible without Alltel Arena and the great community and corporate support in central Arkansas."

 

The success of the 2003 Southeastern Conference Women's Basketball Championships at Alltel Arena had to figure into the successful bid, said arena general manager Michael Marion.

 

"We set an attendance record for the [SEC] tournament," Marion said, "and the fact that we put on such a successful tournament certainly helped."

 

The SEC women's event in 2003 drew 43,642 fans to Alltel Arena.

 

"I'm just elated," said Bob Russell, chairman of the Alltel Arena Board. "When we first started building Alltel, the first thing we said we wanted to get was an NCAA tournament. This will be a great event for central Arkansas. I'm ecstatic."

 

Russell said he is confident that the 18,000-seat Alltel Arena will sell out for all three sessions of the event. Jim Daves, sports information director at the University of Washington, which hosted the first and second rounds this past season, said Key Arena, a 15,000-seat facility in Seattle, was sold out several weeks in advance of the tournament on March 18 and 20.

 

UALR chancellor Dr. Joel E. Anderson said bringing 18,000 basketball fans to the tournament will "be a big boost to the central Arkansas economy."

 

"This is great news," Anderson said. "Hosting this NCAA competition will bring great college basketball to this area."

 

Anderson and Russell both said that credit should be given to Marion, Peterson and others who worked to secure the bid.

 

"This success required a great team effort by community leaders," Anderson said. "I am proud of the important role Chris Peterson played in it."

 

Other sites for the first and second rounds in 2008 also include Anaheim, Calif., Birmingham, Ala., Denver, Colo., Omaha, Neb., Raleigh, N.C., Tampa, Fla., and Washington D.C. The 2008 Final Four will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.