Great news for Connecticut! The NCAA today announced that the state has been selected as the site for seven (7) upcoming sports championships, including basketball, lacrosse, golf and ice hockey.
“This is tremendous news for Connecticut and the many venues and host organizations that worked so hard to make this possible,” says H. Scott Phelps, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB), the State’s official meetings and sports event sales and marketing organization. “These major collegiate events will generate millions of dollars in revenue for our state as the teams, officials, alumni, families and fans will travel here from across the country and stay in our hotels, dine at restaurants, shop in retail establishments and enjoy our attractions. In addition, local residents will have the opportunity to enjoy first-class sports competitions right nearby."
“Our office looks forward to working with the host sponsors, competing universities, and local businesses and communities as they gear up for these terrific events,” adds Robert Murdock, Director of Sports Marketing for the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB). "This is a great opportunity to showcase Connecticut as a vibrant sports destination, and gives us momentum to attract a wide variety of other tournaments and competition.”
The following NCAA championships set for Connecticut are:
March 23-25, 2018: NCAA DI Men's Ice Hockey Regional at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, hosted by Fairfield University and Yale University;
March 21 & 23, 2019: NCAA DI Men’s Basketball First/Second at the XL Center in Hartford, hosted by the University of Connecticut;
March 22-24, 2019: NCAA Women’s Frozen Four Ice Hockey Championships at Quinnipiac University’s TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, hosted by Quinnipiac University;
May 18-19, 2019: NCAA DI Men’s Lacrosse Quarterfinal at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, hosted by Fairfield University;
May 29-31, 2021: NCAA DI, DII, DIII Men’s Lacrosse Championships at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, hosted by Fairfield University;
May 15-18, 2022: NCAA DI Men’s Golf Regional at The Course at Yale University in New Haven; hosted by Yale University; and
May 28-30, 2022: NCAA DI, DII, DIII Men’s Lacrosse Championships at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, hosted by Fairfield University.
Working in partnership with the state’s businesses, institutions, nonprofit organizations, and their surrounding communities, the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) markets all of the state – convention and meeting venues, hotels and attractions, and sporting venues – as a premier destination for international, national, regional and statewide conferences, conventions and major sports events. In the last fiscal year alone, CTCSB business resulted in more than $61.6 million spent by convention, meeting and sports events attendees during their visits to the state, generating more than $4.7 million in Connecticut taxes. Over 22,500 Connecticut jobs in the hospitality industry were supported by these events as a result of these bookings.* The CTCSB is a public-private partnership that is funded by dues from members and by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and Connecticut Office of Tourism. The Connecticut Sports Advisory Board, a division of the CTCSB, focuses its efforts on attracting and serving international, national and regional sporting events. For more information, visit CTmeetings.org or call 860-728-6789.
(*DMAI economic calculator FY 2015-2016)