March Madness is Brooklyn-Bound. Barclays Center will host the first and second rounds of the East Regional of March Madness, 2016’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, the NCAA and the arena’s personnel announced today.
“We are excited to host one of the world’s greatest sporting events in a venue that has become the center of college basketball on the East Coast,” Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said in a prepared statement. “I would like to thank Mark Emmert, Mark Lewis, Scott Barnes, Dan Gavitt, and Andy Arnold for showing the NCAA’s commitment to Barclays Center and to Brooklyn. I also want to thank the Atlantic 10 and its Commissioner Bernadette McGlade for their partnership through this process.”
“In just two years, Barclays Center has welcomed the most exciting and talked about events in sports and entertainment and the NCAA Tournament will be another celebrated moment for the borough.”
Barclays Center has been host to nearly 80 college basketball games since opening in 2012 and will host nearly 40 again this year, according to team spokesman Barry Baum. The games include the Big Apple Classic, CBS Sports Classic, 2014 Legends Classic, and the Atlantic 10 Championship. They will also host the ACC Tournament in 2017 in 2018.
