NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Returning To Sacramento In 2017

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — March Madness will be returning to Sacramento in 2017 after the new downtown arena opens.

The NCAA announced on Monday that Sacramento will host opening round NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament games for the first time in a decade.

The tournament games were a big economic deal for the region, bringing not only the national spotlight, but tons of tourism dollars.

Mike Sophia of the Sacramento Sports Commission, a division of the city's convention and visitors bureau, says the aging Arco Arena was likely a factor in the city not hosting men's tournament games since 2007.

The new Kings arena, slated to open in October 2016, and an adjacent hotel, as well as the 2009 opening of the Citizens Hotel made the city an easy pitch to tournament officials, he said.

"We were able to put together a really compelling hotel package for the teams and visitors," he said.

Sleep Train Arena was picked as host the regional games for the women's tournament in March, which it also did in 2010. However, a scheduling conflict at Sleep Train has moved those games to Spokane instead.