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Updates on potential sites for future Final Fours, First Fours

NCAA Kentucky UConn Final Four Basketball

AP Photo

AP

Some progress has been made in the process of picking locations for the Final Fours in 2017-2020, according to ESPN.com’s Andy Katz.

Houston, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Detroit are, as Katz termed it, “unlikely” to receive any of those four Final Four. That leaves Indianapolis, New Orleans, San Antonio, North Texas, Phoenix and Atlanta as the remaining options.

Indianapolis will likely get one of those four Final Fours. Not only is it where the NCAA calls home, but it’s also the best city for hosting major sporting events. Lucas Oil Stadium is located downtown with a myriad of hotels, bars and restaurants surrounding it. Everything worth going to is within walking distance, which creates a terrific atmosphere for a three-day event like the Final Four.

North Texas, where the 2014 Final Four was held, was awful. Cowboys Stadium is a good 30 minutes outside of Dallas, there’s no centralized location where fans can congregate and getting to the stadium for the game is an absolute nightmare.

As much as I would enjoy a trip to Phoenix in the spring, if I was the one making the picks here, Indy, New Orleans, Atlanta and San Antonio would be the four cities getting these Final Fours.

Katz also mentioned in that report that Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will be making a push to host the First Four at the Sanford Pentagon Arena. That building played host to a game between Wisconsin and St. John’s last November. Wichita State and Memphis will play there this season.

Follow @robdauster