NCAA announces host cities for future Final Four sites

The NCAA is finally bringing its main event back to the country's west side. 

Phoenix is among the five cities that will host the NCAA's Final Four tournament from 2017-21, as selected by the Division I men’s basketball committee.  

A western city hasn't hosted a Final Four game since Seattle in 1995. The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., will hold the event in 2017, followed by San Antonio in 2018. 

Minneapolis will host in 2019, Atlanta in 2020 and Indianapolis in 2021.

"The fact we had sites selected from the West, South, North, East and Midwest, and have five sites in three different time zones, is reflected in the votes," said Scott Barnes, vice president and athletics director at Utah State and chair of the Division I men’s basketball committee. "The discussion during this meeting centered on growing the game of college basketball and, most importantly, creating a positive experience for student athletes and fans. We think we've accomplished that, and we're obviously very excited."

San Antonio has played host three different times, the last coming in 1998. It will be held at the Alamodome, which will undergo renovations, and become the sixth different facility to host a minimum of four Final Four events. 

It will mark the fourth time Minneapolis has staged the event and first since 2001. The tournament will be held at the new Minnesota Multi-Purpose Stadium. 

Atlanta will get the event for the fifth time, as the games will be played at Atlanta Stadium, which is currently under construction. 

Indianapolis, which follows Atlanta, will host the 2015 tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. It is home to the NCAA headquarters and has a contractual agreement guaranteeing the men’s Final Four will be held often in the city.

The cities were selected from a group of eight finalists, which included New Orleans, North Texas and St. Louis. 

"Speaking for the entire committee, I can’t express enough gratitude to each of the representatives of the finalist cities," Barnes said. "They invested so much time and resources over the past year to make sure that each prospective host put its best foot forward."