You can’t overstate the significance of March Madness. From the financial benefits of the host cities to the top seeds getting placed in regional locations close to their fan bases, March Madness is very involved.
But the intricate process of approving bids and top teams getting as close to home games as possible can’t be understated. Along with that, the NCAA wants to choose spots that have a high basketball population that will create a unique gameday experience, regardless who the teams are playing.
This story will dive into a little bit about the importance of host cities, where each March Madness game will be played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the arenas and their seating capacity as well as some past tournament history.
The NCAA takes the host city bidding process seriously. Each host city has to be able to manage having a boost in population over the course of a weekend, easy to get to and have enough hotels as well.
Where every NCAA Tournament game will be played in 2025
Here’s which cities are hosting March Madness games in 2025, including the host school in each city. There will be eight host cities for the first and second round games, four host cities for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight (regional) games and the Final Four and national championship will be hosted at the same site.
- First Four: Dayton, OH (UD Arena, University of Dayton)
- First/Second Round: Lexington, KY (Rupp Arena, University of Kentucky); Providence, RI (Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence College); Seattle,WA (Climate Pledge Arena, University of Washington); Wichita, KS (Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita State University); Cleveland, OH (Rocket Arena, Mid-American Conference); Denver, CO (Ball Arena, Mountain West Conference); Milwaukee, WI (Fiserv Forum, Marquette University); Raleigh, NC (Lenovo Center, NC State)
- East Regional Sweet 16/Elite Eight: Newark, NJ (Prudential Center, Seton Hall University)
- West Regional Sweet 16/Elite Eight: San Francisco, CA (Chase Center, Pac-12 Conference
- South Regional Sweet 16/Elite Eight: Atlanta, GA (State Farm Arena, Georgia Tech)
- Midwest Regional Sweet 16/Elite Eight: Indianapolis, IN (Lucas Oil Stadium, IUPUI/Horizon League)
- Final Four/national championship: San Antonio, TX (Alamodome)
As you can see, host sites are spread across the country, which is intentional. There are teams from all over the country in the NCAA that play in the NCAA Tournament and because the committee likes to have the better seeded teams closer to home, they have sites all over.
First Four: Where the NCAA Tournament begins
This year, like it has been since 2011, Dayton, Ohio will be the host site of the First Four, play-in games. Dayton became the host city for the play-in games because of its history in the NCAA Tournament.
Dayton has been part of the NCAA Tournament since the beginning and as a result, when the tournament expanded, Dayton was offered the opportunity to host the play-in games. The games will be played at UD Arena on the campus of the University of Dayton.
While the first and second round games truly feel like the start of March Madness, the First Four games truly set the tone. Those games are played on Tuesday and Wednesday and are the perfect primer for the Big Dance.
The play-in games usually feature smaller schools so it’s a good chance for basketball fans to see some teams that wouldn’t otherwise be on the national scale. The No. 11 seed play-in games usually feature more recognizable schools and teams.
Every host city for the first two rounds of March Madness 2025
First/Second Round host cities and arenas:
Lexington, KY (Rupp Arena)
- Venue capacity: 20,545
- Past tournament history: Returning as a host site for the first time since 2013. Rupp Arena has been a host site in the NCAA Tournament now 13 times. It hosted the 1985 Final Four.
Providence, RI (Amica Mutual Pavilion)
- Venue capacity: 12,410
- Past tournament history: It’s been a host city in the NCAA Tournament 11 times, including hosting the Elite Eight twice.
Seattle, WA (Climate Pledge Arena)
- Venue capacity: 18,300
- Past tournament history: This will be Climate Pledge Arena’s first time hosting a Men’s NCAA Tournament game. In 2023, it hosted a Women’s NCAA Tournament Super Regional game. It will also host first and second round games in 2028.
Wichita, KS (Intrust Bank Arena)
- Venue capacity: 15,750
- Past tournament history: Intrust Bank Arena has hosted both Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournament games. It hosted first and second round Women’s games in 2011 and Sweet 16/Elite Eight games in 2022. It hosted first and second round Men’s games in 2018. It was supposed to host in 2021, but COVID moved all the games to Indianapolis.
Cleveland, OH (Rocket Arena)
- Venue capacity: 19,432
- Past tournament history: Rocket Arena has hosted first and second round games as well as Sweet 16/Elite Eight games. In addition to the Men’s, it has hosted the Women’s Final Four in 2007 and 2024 and is the host site for the Men’s and Women’s MAC tournament.
Denver, CO (Ball Arena)
- Venue capacity: 19,099
- Past tournament history: Ball Arena has hosted the NCAA Men’s Tournament five times, most recently in 2023. It has hosted the Women’s Final Four as well in 2012.
Milwaukee, WI (Fiserv Forum)
- Venue capacity: 17,385
- Past Tournament history: Fiserv Forum is hosting a Men’s NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2022 when it hosted first and second round games as well.
Raleigh, NC (Lenovo Center)
- Venue capacity: 19,500
- Past tournament history: The Lenovo Center is no stranger to the NCAA Men’s Tournament, having hosted first and second round games four times prior to this year.
In this year’s NCAA Tournament, games will be as far west as Seattle and as far east as Seattle. So naturally, any team that has to travel across the country for the weekend could make for a wild travel experience and game preparation.
The benefit to being one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament is you get placed in a region closer to home. Not only does it help with travel, but it also helps when it comes to home-court advantage, which could be a massive advantage in the tournament.
March Madness Regional Sites: Sweet 16 & Elite Eight Host Cities
Sweet 16 and Elite Eight sites:
- East Regional: Newark, NJ (Prudential Center)
- West Regional: San Francisco, CA (Chase Center)
- South Regional: Atlanta, GA (State Farm Arena)
- Midwest Regional: Indianapolis, IN (Lucas Oil Stadium)
Aside from the East Regional games in New Jersey, two of the other host sites are in NBA arenas and the Midwest Regional is in Lucas Oil Stadium. You couldn’t ask for better atmospheres for those games.
And when you look at the cities themselves, they’re all larger cities with a prominent basketball presence. When the stage is the biggest, these arenas provide an optimal atmosphere for college basketball.
The good thing too is if you’re fortunate enough to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament the locations are a lot better than some of the first and second round games. Of the four cities, three of them are in major cities.
Getting to Atlanta or San Francisco shouldn’t be an issue at all. They have the infrastructure to host big events. There’s no shortage of things to do in either city as well. They’re the perfect locations for a big spectacle like the NCAA Tournament.
Where the 2025 Final Four & NCAA Championship will be played
San Antonio will be the site of the Final Four and the national championship game this year. The Alamodome has been a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament, hosting the Final Four in 1998, 2004, 2008 and 2018. Probably the most notable Final Four’s include’s Bill Self vs. John Calipari in 2008, featuring Derrick Rose on Memphis and Mario Chalmers on Kansas.
Then the 2018 national championship game between Villanova and Michigan, which saw the Wildcats crust past the Wolverines to a 79-62 win.
The Final Four site is usually at a larger venue, typically a football stadium. And in 2018, the Alamodome debuted a new “center court” style on an elevated court to accommodate even more seating, expanding to 70,000.
The weekend of the Final Four and national championship has more than enough events scattered throughout with concerts and fan events starting on Friday, April 4 and lasting through a championship parade on Monday night after the game.
How does the NCAA select host cities for March Madness?
The NCAA doesn’t just let any city host an NCAA Tournament game so sorry to all you college town cities hoping to bid for a spot. The NCAA has strict guidelines, which includes an arena with a minimum of 10,000 seating capacity, the quality and availability of the facility, geographical location and how easy it is to get to the city.
This also includes having adequate hotel space, room blocks for schools, bands, cheerleaders and fan bases. For the most part, you see repeat cities hosting NCAA Tournament games thanks to their continued success hosting prior.
It also helps if they have a history of hosting big events (Super Bowls, All-star games, etc.). In addition to the logistical side, it has to be a city that has more to offer than just the games themselves.
Bigger cities are a target because they typically have a lot to offer, tourist attractions and such around the games themselves. To bid to host an NCAA Tournament game, a city has to submit a budget proposal, fill out a facility questionnaire, which includes a facility breakdown and photos. They also have to have a security plan in place as well as liability insurance.
Which cities have hosted the most NCAA Tournament games?
In case you want to know why Dayton always hosts the First Four games, it’s because no other city has hosted more NCAA Tournament games than Dayton. UD Arena has hosted 137 games between 1970 to present day.
The next closest venues are Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, MO, which has hosted 83 games between 1940-1964, third most is the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City with 81 games from 1971-2006 and in fourth is Madison Square Garden, which has hosted 80 games.
Probably the most iconic moment in the NCAA Tournament is when UMBC stunned No. 1 overall seed Virginia to end a 135-game losing streak by a No. 16 seed, back in 2018. That happened at Spectrum Arena in Charlotte, NC. It happened again when Fairleigh Dickson defeated No. 1 seed Purdue in 2023 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.
Another iconic moment is when Kris Jenkins stunned North Carolina at NRG Stadium with a buzzer beater to help Villanova win a national championship in 2016. It was the first of two championships for the Wildcats in a three-year span.
You got to go back to 1992 for this memorable shot, or should I say, “The Shot”. Christian Laettner helped Duke beat Kentucky at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. It’s called March Madness for a reason because anything can happen.
When a No. 16 seed finally took down a No. 1 seed it proved anything is possible in March. This tournament is measuring up to be one of the most exciting.