Final Four returns in 2023
Winning bid adds to city’s standing as host to major sports events
Houston and NRG Stadium on Monday were selected to host the 2023 men’s Final Four, reaffirming the city’s place as a regular destination for major sporting events.
College basketball’s marquee event will return for the third time in a 12-year span, adding to a growing sports calendar that includes an NCAA Tournament regional at Toyota Center in 2020 and the College Football Playoff national championship game in 2024. Houston also is among 17 cities vying to host 2026 World Cup games as part of North America’s winning bid.
“Houston’s on a roll,” said Janis Burke, chief executive officer for the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. “We keep getting bigger, better and stronger when you look at our footprint.”
The 2023 Final Four will be held April 1 and 3. It will mark the first time the event will be hosted by four Division I schools, with the University of Houston, Rice, Texas Southern and Houston Baptist sharing the honor.
This will be the fourth time Houston has hosted the Final Four. The event
was held in the Astrodome in 1971 and in 2011 and 2016 at NRG Stadium. The latest bid — a partnership among the Sports Authority, Houston First Corp., NRG Park, the four local universities and the local hotel community – was part of a “3 For The Win” campaign to land the event for the third time since 2011.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said the event’s return would be a “slam dunk.”
“This is another big moment, big day for the city of Houston,” Turner said to reporters on a conference call from Peru. “No other city can put on big events like the city of Houston. They came in 2011, they came back in 2016, and they’re coming back now in 2023.”
San Antonio was also named a host city in the four-season block announced by the NCAA on Monday. It hosted this year’s Final Four and will do so again in 2025, giving Texas the event twice in three years.
Phoenix/Glendale (2024) and Indianapolis (2026) also were awarded Final Fours on Monday.
‘It’s Houston time’
Once overlooked for major sporting events, Houston has become a national and global destination. It hosted the Final Four and Super LI in a 10-month span in 2016-17.
“We feel like Austin had their time, Dallas had their time and San Antonio had their time, and now it’s Houston’s time,” said Mike Waterman, executive vice president of Houston First, the region’s main tourism arm. “The fact we are hosting Final Fours and Super Bowls, these are huge events for the city. They elevate our brand. We’re ready for them.”
Waterman said more events could be on the way, including the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The result of that bidding could be announced by the end of the year.
NCAA officials cited development in the east end of downtown since 2016, including a $180 million facelift to the George R. Brown Convention Center and construction of the 1,000room Marriott Marquis, in helping Houston land another Final Four.
“Had that dramatic improvement not happened, I don’t know if we would be in the same situation,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president for basketball.
According to the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, the 2016 Final Four had an economic impact of roughly $250 million for Houston. Doug Hall, the Sports Authority’s vice president of special projects, said the 2023 Final Four is expected to have an economic impact exceeding $300 million.
According to one economist, the 2018 gathering had an economic impact of $185 million on San Antonio. The projected impact for the 2019 event in Minneapolis has been reported at $142 million.
‘Championship city’
The 2016 event in Houston drew 165,000 to Discovery Green for the March Madness Music Festival and other events around the city. Along with the economic impact, the city also benefited through a literacy program with the Houston Independent School District and charitable contributions.
In 2016, Villanova beat North Carolina 77-74 on a last-second shot before a crowd of 74,340, at the time the second-highest attendance figure for the championship game.
“You get a real sense of Houston that it has become a championship city,” Kevin White, a committee member of the NCAA men’s basketball committee and athletic director at Duke, said in June during a site visit to NRG Stadium. “That may sound a little Pollyanna. This is a city that knows how to put on, how to host major events. There’s a real track record of success.”
In competition with six other cities — Arlington, Detroit and Los Angeles were not selected in this round of Final Four sites — a six-member Houston delegation traveled to Boston last week to give a final presentation.
Burke said the proposal highlighted “all the great things” the city has done but also made reference to the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
“How our community pulled together and got back on our feet,” Burke said.