Ahead of the 2023 edition of the NCAAB Championship, which is due to start in just a few days’ time, we’ve taken a look at the venues selected to host the competition.
Venues are selected a few years in advance and a number of issues are considered when cities put forward their bids, including the quality of the basketball facilities, accommodation for teams and fans, revenue possibilities, geographic location and the community interest in the tournament.
There are 14 venues in total for the men’s NCAAB Championship, while the women’s tournament has taken on a different approach this year with three venues used from the Sweet 16 onwards.
Let’s take a look at some of these sites in greater detail.
| What | NCAAB Championship 2023 |
| Where | United States |
| When | Wednesday 15th March - Monday 3rd April 2023 |
| How to watch | BT Sport and ESPN Player |
NCAA Division I basketball tournament venues
The Final Four
Houston, NRG Stadium (72,220 – expandable to 80,000, capacity)
The Final Four will take place at the NRG Stadium in Houston this year for the third time, with the venue having previously hosted the national semi-finals and championship games in 2011 and 2016. This is the fourth time the city of Houston has held the event, having also done so in 1971.
The stadium is primarily used for football and has been the home of the Houston Texans since it was completed in 2002, it is also the first NFL facility to have a retractable roof.
To host the Final Four a stadium must have a capacity of at least 60,000 and the NRG Stadium in Houston is capable of holding up to 80,000 spectators.
Sweet 16 & Elite Eight
East regional: New York, Madison Square Garden (19,812 capacity)
The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games from the east regional will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York, which was opened in its current location in 1968 but has a history dating way back to 1879.
The Garden is the home of the New York Knicks in the NBA and the New York Rangers of the NHL, while it has also hosted some of the biggest bouts in the history of boxing in years gone by.
West regional: Las Vegas, T-Mobile Arena (18,000 capacity)
The NCAAB Championship heads to Nevada for the first time, as this tournament will mark the NCAA's first ever presence in the state, with Las Vegas becoming a new host city.
The T-Mobile Arena, home of Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL, becomes the 45th new host venue of the NCAAB Championship but it has held college games previously and UNLV men's basketball play at least one game per season at the arena.
South regional: Louisville, KFC Yum! Center (22,090 capacity)
Opened in 2010, the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, is the home of the Louisville Cardinals men's and women's basketball teams from the University of Louisville, who are the primary tenants of the arena.
Midwest regional: Kansas City, T-Mobile Center (18,972 capacity)
The T-Mobile Center in Kansas City has hosted the Big 12 men's basketball tournament in every year since 2010 and this is the third time it will have held the regional rounds of the NCAAB Championship, having done so in 2017 and 2019.
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First Four, First Round and Second Round NCAAB Championship venues
There are nine other venues that will stage NCAAB Championship games, with the University of Dayton hosting the play-in First Four round at the University of Dayton Arena.
The first and second round games taking place on Mar. 16 and 18 will be held at the Amway Center (Orland, Florida), Legacy Arena (Birmingham, Alabama), Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa) and the Golden 1 Center (Sacramento, California).
The games on Mar. 17 and 19 will take place at the MVP Arena (Albany, New York), Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina), Nationwide Arena (Columbus, Ohio) and the Ball Arena (Denver, Colorado).
2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament venues
The First Four will take place at four of the campuses seeded in the Top 16, while the first and second rounds will be played at the sites of the top 16 seeds.
There has been a change in the women’s tournament for 2023 as the regional rounds, the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, will be held at two sites rather than four, as had been the case in previous tournaments.
The Greenville regional Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be held at the 15,000 capacity Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, while the Seattle regional Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games are due to be contested at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, which has a capacity of 18,300.
Women's Final Four
Dallas, American Airlines Center (19,200 up to 21,146 with standing capacity)
Finally, we’ll take a look at the venue for the women’s Final Four.
The women’s Final Four heads to Dallas for the second time, having previously been held in the city in 2017.
The American Airlines Center was opened in 2001 and is the home of NBA team the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars of the NHL.
