Tigers#1
07-01-2003, 04:52 PM
NCAA awards 2009 Final Four to Detroit
The Associated Press
7/1/2003, 2:19 p.m. ET
DETROIT (AP) — The 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball Final Four will be played at Ford Field.
"It's great news. There's been a lot of work involved putting the bid together let alone hosting it," said Detroit Mercy sports information director Mark Engel, whose school will host the event.
The other men's Final Four sites announced Tuesday are the Alamodome in San Antonio, 2008; the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, 2010 and Reliant Stadium in Houston in 2011.
Next year's Final Four will be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The 2005 through 2007 Final Four sites, which previously have been announced, are in St. Louis, Indianapolis and Atlanta, respectively.
Ford Field also is scheduled to host the Super Bowl in 2006.
Detroit Mercy hosted the Midwest Regionals in 1988 and 1991. This will be the first Final Four ever staged in Detroit.
"This is great news for Detroit and basketball fans throughout Michigan," Titans athletic director Brad Kinsman said. "It's been 20 years since our first bid for the Final Four was submitted. We've hosted successful NCAA regionals since that time and now college basketball's showcase event is finally coming to Detroit in 2009."
Ford Field, home of the NFL's Lions, will get a college basketball run-through later this year when Michigan State plays Kentucky.
Michigan State hopes to sell more than 75,000 tickets to the Dec. 13 game so it can break the world record for attendance at a basketball game.
The world record for attendance at a basketball game is 75,000, set Aug. 21, 1951, during a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition in Berlin Olympic Stadium in Germany.
The largest crowd for an NCAA basketball game is 68,112, set Jan. 20, 1990, when Notre Dame played LSU in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
The Associated Press
7/1/2003, 2:19 p.m. ET
DETROIT (AP) — The 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball Final Four will be played at Ford Field.
"It's great news. There's been a lot of work involved putting the bid together let alone hosting it," said Detroit Mercy sports information director Mark Engel, whose school will host the event.
The other men's Final Four sites announced Tuesday are the Alamodome in San Antonio, 2008; the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, 2010 and Reliant Stadium in Houston in 2011.
Next year's Final Four will be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The 2005 through 2007 Final Four sites, which previously have been announced, are in St. Louis, Indianapolis and Atlanta, respectively.
Ford Field also is scheduled to host the Super Bowl in 2006.
Detroit Mercy hosted the Midwest Regionals in 1988 and 1991. This will be the first Final Four ever staged in Detroit.
"This is great news for Detroit and basketball fans throughout Michigan," Titans athletic director Brad Kinsman said. "It's been 20 years since our first bid for the Final Four was submitted. We've hosted successful NCAA regionals since that time and now college basketball's showcase event is finally coming to Detroit in 2009."
Ford Field, home of the NFL's Lions, will get a college basketball run-through later this year when Michigan State plays Kentucky.
Michigan State hopes to sell more than 75,000 tickets to the Dec. 13 game so it can break the world record for attendance at a basketball game.
The world record for attendance at a basketball game is 75,000, set Aug. 21, 1951, during a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition in Berlin Olympic Stadium in Germany.
The largest crowd for an NCAA basketball game is 68,112, set Jan. 20, 1990, when Notre Dame played LSU in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.