NCAA Picks Columbus for 2018 Womens Basketball Final Four

A culminating event of March Madness will call Columbus home in a few years. The NCAA has awarded Columbus the 2018 Final Four in women’s college basketball. National semi-final and final games will be played at Nationwide Arena. The city and Ohio State University submitted the winning bid. Columbus was one of seven cities in the running for Final Fours between 2017 and 2020. Columbus failed in its previous bid to host the women’s final four in 2008. City and OSU officials credit an expansion in the number of downtown hotel rooms for the change in fortune. NCAA officials estimate a women’s Final Four can generate up to $20 million for the host city . The award is a big win for the city’s hospitality industry which also hopes to land the 2016 Democratic National Convention.