Women's Basketball: Hartford Site Extended to '09
December 02, 2004 03:30 PM | General
December 2, 2004
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The BIG EAST Conference and the Hartford Civic Center’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum have reached an agreement to extend the contract for the venue to host the BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Championship through 2009, Commissioner Michael Tranghese announced.
“As BIG EAST women’s basketball continues to grow on a national level, we continue our ongoing commitment to the sport and our member institutions,” said Tranghese. “The tournament will continue to showcase the talents of our nationally-recognized programs in a public arena, and in a city that embraces collegiate women’s basketball.”
The original three-year agreement announced in October 2002 had the Civic Center hosting the championship through 2006. The new terms add three years to the deal. The 2004 Women’s Basketball Championship in Hartford marked the first time in league history the women’s tournament was not held on the campus of a member institution.
“We are thrilled to have earned a three-year extension to host the BIG EAST Conference Championship,” said Marty Brooks, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Madison Square Garden – Connecticut, managers of the Hartford Civic Center. “It recognizes the efforts of not only the Civic Center, but the City of Hartford, State of Connecticut and every business, agency, organization and fan that helped make the BIG EAST Championship such an incredible success last season.”
The four-day championship features the BIG EAST’s 12 teams based on regular season finish. The winner of the conference championship earns the league’s automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Division I Championship.
Full session tickets for the 2005 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Championship, scheduled for March 5-8, went on sale Wednesday, December 1 via Ticketmaster and at the Hartford Civic Center box office.
The 16,000-plus seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum serves as the home-away-from-home for the NCAA Champions University of Connecticut men’s and women’s basketball teams. More than one million people visited the Civic Center last year, including record-setting attendance figures during the 2004 Big East Women’s Basketball Championships and NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball East Regional.
The Hartford Civic Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Exhibition Center is Connecticut’s largest sports and entertainment facility. Managed by Madison Square Garden since 1997, the arena is also home to the Hartford Wolf Pack; AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. In addition to the resident teams, the Hartford Civic Center is host to top concerts, family shows, ice-skating spectaculars, consumer events and trade shows throughout the year. For more information or an event schedule, call 860-727-8010 or visit online at www.hartfordciviccenter.com.
