The entire NCAA women’s basketball tournament is held in the San Antonio area

The women’s NCAA basketball tournament will be held on six courts at five locations in the San Antonio area from March 21 to April 4, it was announced Friday. The Alamodome will host the Women’s Final Four, Elite Eight and Sweet 16. All 63 matches of the 64-team event will be broadcast by the ESPN family of networks and available through the ESPN app. No decision has yet been made on fan attendance.

The first round will take place in three cities: San Antonio; Austin, Texas; and San Marcos, Texas. All subsequent games are in San Antonio.

The Alamodome was previously scheduled to host the Women’s Final Four in 2021, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire event was moved to that area for safety reasons. COVID-19 testing will take place throughout the event and the NCAA will work with the San Antonio Metro Health department on approved medical protocols.

“Like the 2020-21 season, we know that the championship will have its challenges, but we believe we have the necessary structure and safeguards to ensure a quality championship experience for students and athletes,” said Nina King, president of the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee made a statement. “We are convinced that one geographic region allows us to focus on the potential benefits of implementing certain security measures in a controlled environment with competition and practice venues, medical aids and accommodation for teams and officials, all close by . “

The first round is from March 21-22. The games in San Antonio will be held at the Alamodome (which will have two courts), the Bill Greehey Arena at St. Mary’s University and the UTSA Convocation Center. The games in Austin take place at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas and the games in San Marcos at the Strahan Arena in Texas State.

In the second round, March 23-24, all games will take place at the three locations in San Antonio. After that, all games will be in the Alamodome. The Regional Semifinals will be held from March 27-28, the Regional Finals from March 29-30 and the Final Four on April 2 and 4. The Alamodome will be modified for one track only for the Final Four.

The NCAA tournament field will be revealed on selection Monday, March 15 (ESPN / ESPN app, 7:00 PM ET). Team travel parties have a maximum of 34 people and each team is housed in hotels in Bexar County in San Antonio with other Level 1 tested individuals.

Training for all teams will take place in San Antonio on the two courses of Alamodome and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, which can contain nine courses. San Antonio previously hosted the Women’s Final Four in 2002 and 2010.

“We appreciate the historic significance of moving the entire championship to one region and would like to recognize the work of the women’s basketball committee and staff, our hosts, local organizers and ESPN, which has enabled us to plan for a successful championship in 2021,” Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president of women’s basketball, said in a statement. “We are fortunate to partner with San Antonio, which is home to one of the country’s most experienced local organizing committees.”