Cleveland To Host NCAA Games In 2011

CLEVELAND —The men’s NCAA basketball tournament is bouncing back into town in two years.

The NCAA announced that Quicken Loans Arena will host first- and second-round games in 2011. The building previously hosted the women’s Final Four in 2007.

Cleveland State will be the host school.

In 2011, the men’s Final Four will be played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, the NCAA said Monday.

The 2012 Final Four will be played at the Superdome in New Orleans and in the following year - the 75th anniversary of the event - it will be played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

The NCAA also announced most of the host sites for the early rounds in 2011-2013:

- In 2011, the first- and second-round hosts are: Tulsa, Okla.; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Cleveland; Denver; Tampa, Fla.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Washington, D.C. The regional sites are: Anaheim, Calif.; San Antonio; Newark, N.J.; and New Orleans.

- In 2012, the early sites are: Albuquerque, N.M.; Columbus, Ohio; Greensboro, N.C.; Louisville, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn.; Omaha, Neb.; Pittsburgh; and Portland, Ore. The regional sites are: Atlanta, Phoenix, Boston and St. Louis.

- In 2013, the early round sites are: Dayton, Ohio; Auburn Hills, Mich.; Lexington, Ky.; Salt Lake City; San Jose, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Kansas City, Mo.; and Philadelphia. The regional sites, with the East site still to be chosen, are: Los Angeles, Indianapolis and the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.