Minneapolis has been selected as the host for the 2028 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and as a host for the first and second rounds of the 2027 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, the NCAA announced today.
U.S. Bank Stadium, in conjunction with Minnesota Sports and Events (MNSE) and the University of Minnesota, will host the NCAA Wrestling Championships in March 2028. The event is expected to break the event’s attendance record of 113,758, while delivering an estimated economic impact of more than $45 million.
The first and second rounds of the 2027 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament will be hosted by Target Center in March 2027. It will be the first time any rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament are played at Target Center. The last time Minneapolis hosted the preliminary rounds of the tournament was in 2009 at the Metrodome.
“Minneapolis continues to be a top choice for hosting premier sporting events,” said Wendy Blackshaw, President and CEO of Minnesota Sports and Events. “After the pandemic upended the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 2020, MNSE sought to re-secure the event for Minnesota as soon as possible. We are proud to deliver on that goal, and we look forward to hosting a championship that will be unlike any other.”
A notable highlight of the bid selection process has the NCAA Wrestling Championships moving from an arena to a stadium in 2028. The 2020 event was scheduled to be held at U.S. Bank Stadium before being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are honored to host the NCAA Wrestling Championships at U.S. Bank Stadium and to help grow this incredible event to the stadium level in 2028,” said Michael Vekich, Chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority. “U.S. Bank Stadium was previously positioned to welcome the NCAA and their pinnacle collegiate wrestling championships in March of 2020. The enthusiasm from the community was one-of-a-kind and we couldn’t be more ready to carry out this event in the years ahead. We look forward to welcoming the NCAA and the wrestling community to our incredible venue.”
The NCAA Wrestling Championships and Men’s Basketball Tournament selections come on the heels of multiple major events in Minneapolis this summer. The 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials and 2024 Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, all hosted at Target Center, drove more than $127 million in economic impact for the region.
“Between the NCAA Women’s Final Four and the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, Target Center has hosted some of the biggest events in college basketball during the last three years,” said Amy Rahja, Assistant General Manager, Target Center. “We are thrilled to host the NCAA Men’s Tournament and showcase March Madness in Minnesota.”
Minneapolis welcomed more than 200,000 fans to Gymnastics City USA for events occurring throughout downtown during the Gymnastics Trials, while the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament sold out for the first time in the event’s history, welcoming over 121,000 fans. The Gymnastics Trials and Big Ten Tournaments helped drive two of the three highest hotel occupancy rate periods in Minneapolis since 2019.
Minnesota Sports and Events has now secured a series of high-profile events scheduled for the next several years, including the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Hockey Championship and 2026 WWE SummerSlam. Additionally, U.S. Bank Stadium will serve as a host venue for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament.
To learn more about the 2028 NCAA Wrestling Championships and the 2027 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, please visit ncaa.com.
(info courtesy of Gopher Sports)
