The last time Los Angeles hosted a men's Final Four was 1972.
The earliest it could possibly host another one is 2027.
The NCAA announced on Monday the future sites for Final Fours through 2026. To the surprise of some, Los Angeles and its glimmering stadium-in-the-making are not part of the plans. So who won out? Houston, Phoenix/Glendale, San Antonio and Indianapolis were awarded for the big stage in years 2023-2026. The Final Four sites from 2019-2022 (Minneapolis, Atlanta, Indianapolis and New Orleans) had previously been announced.
That quartet of metropolises have not only hosted Final Fours before, but those four cities have hosted Final Fours in the four most recent years: Indianapolis in 2015, Houston in 2016, Phoenix/Glendale in 2017 and San Antonio in 2018.
Here's the Final Four schedule through 2026.
| Year | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Minneapolis | US Bank Stadium |
| 2020 | Atlanta | Mercedes- Benz Stadium |
| 2021 | Indianapolis | Lucas Oil Stadium |
| 2022 | New Orleans | Mercedes-Benz Superdome |
| 2023 | Houston | NRG Stadium |
| 2024 | Phoenix/Glendale | University of Phoenix Stadium |
| 2025 | San Antonio | Alamodome |
| 2026 | Indianapolis | Lucas Oil Stadium |
There were seven cities who submitted bids for Final Four hosting in this round. Dallas/Arlington, Detroit and Los Angeles missed out.
Detroit last hosted in 2009. Dallas hosted in 2014. Los Angeles has hosted twice in its history (1968 and 1972). The decisions on which cities not only got to host, but in which years, were made by the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. That's the same group that seeds and selects the NCAA Tournament every year.
For Houston, it's the fourth time the city's hosted a Final Four (1971, 2011, 2016). Phoenix/Glendale gets its second crack at being master of ceremonies; the 2017 Final Four was its only other time. San Antonio, a fan and media favorite alike, will be a fifth-time host come 2025 (previous years were 1998, 2004, 2008 and 2018).
Indianapolis is now a bona fide lock to host a Final Four every five or six years. It's the only city hosting twice in the next eight seasons, and when the 2026 Final Four commences, it will mark the ninth time Indy gets the event (1980, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2021).
