From the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
Events center seeks NCAA wrestling, women’s basketball tourneys
DES MOINES (AP) — Officials of the new Iowa Events Center are bidding to host the NCAA Division I wrestling championships and a regional final of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
“Essentially, our bids now help to put us in front of the NCAA as a venue possibility, “Andy Long, general manager of the Events Center, said of the first attempts to attract major collegiate sports events. “If we can land one of the bids, then we might be able to land something else down the road.”
Long said officials hope to land the wrestling championships at Wells Fargo Arena between 2008 and 2011. He said the women’s tournament bid would be for 2007 or ’08.
Long said the bids would acquaint NCAA officials with the Events Center, which is scheduled to open this year, and increase the chances of landing other major NCAA-sponsored contests, such as first- and second-round men’s NCAA Tournament basketball games.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has scheduled men’s tournament venues through 2008 and hasn’t started taking bids for 2009.
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