The NCAA announced today that Des Moines will serve as one of the host sites for the 2016 men’s basketball tournament. Des Moines’ Wells Fargo Arena will host first and second round contests in mid-March 2016, officials revealed, marking tournament’s first return to Iowa since heading to Ames in 1972.
The Des Moines Register reports that the city’s bid (its third attempt at the time) included “11 letters from other leaders, including Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby” as well as an official visit to the NCAA’s headquarters in Indianapolis this spring.
Des Moines will join Brooklyn, New York as a first-time host, the committee notes.
Monday’s announcement comes just days after the NCAA announced the tournament’s “final four” host locations through 2021 (Iowa, shockingly, was not among them).
