July 6, 2006

Raleigh Named as Site for 2009 NCAA Women's Basketball Regional

The RBC Center in Raleigh will be the site of an NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Regional in 2009, the NCAA announced today.

N.C. State University will serve as the official host institution.

Four teams will advance to Raleigh, and one will move on to the Final Four in St. Louis.

Dates will be either March 28 and March 30 (Saturday and Monday), or March 29 and March 31 (Sunday and Tuesday). A final decision on dates will be determined by the NCAA at a later time.

The 2009 bid was submitted by N.C. State, with support from the RBC Center and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The NCAA Women's Regional will generate several thousand hotel room nights for the area, with an economic impact in the neighborhood of $500,000 or more. Of course, those figures won't be finalized until after the event and will depend largely upon which four teams advance to Raleigh.

By 2009, the RBC Center will have hosted the following NCAA basketball events:

2002 NCAA Women's East Regional
2004 NCAA Men's First & Second Rounds
2007 NCAA Women's First & Second Rounds
2008 NCAA Men's First & Second Rounds
2009 NCAA Women's Regional

For more information, visit N.C. State's web site at www.gopack.com , or the NCAA's official announcement at http://www.ncaasports.com/.