COLUMBIA, S.C. — March Madness could be coming back to the "Famously Hot City" in 2027.
This week, City of Columbia leadership announced they applied to be one of the cities considered for the NCAA tournament in 2027 and 2028.
The last time Columbia hosted the March Madness tournament was in 2019, and the only other time was in 1970.
Columbia City Council member Dr. Aditi Bussells explained that the NCAA considers various factors when considering a host city.
“We have to think about many different things, anywhere from public safety to capacity. Do we have the hotels, do we have the parking? Are there other events going on that could potentially conflict? This is a large-scale event, which takes years to be able to build," Dr. Bussells stated. "These were the conversations that we were having and are continuing to have as we think about the convention center's future as well.”
The city hosted the first and second rounds of the tournament in 2019, and now Columbia leaders are hopeful they can welcome the tournament back again.
In a Columbia City Council meeting this week, the council members got to hear a presentation from Experience Columbia about the city's progress in the application process.
“The bid was due February 7. We are currently in the first round of Q&A, or back-and-forth with the NCAA. The NCAA sent us a spreadsheet with questions they had about our bid, and we are in the process of answering those questions and sending them back to the NCAA. There could be at least two more rounds of those Q&As," said Scott Powers, the Executive Director of Experience Columbia.
If the tournament returns, the city could see a huge boost in tourism and the local economy.
“It created an $11.9 million local economic impact for a four-day event. People staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, and visiting some of our other attractions were great ways to highlight our city," said a representative from Experience Columbia about the impact of the tournament in 2019.
Now the city will just have to wait and see if they have been selected. The city expects to hear a decision by October 2, 2024.