Arch Madness Staying in St. Louis

(St. Louis, MO) – Arch Madness is not only staying in St. Louis, but the tournament will be played in an improved Scottrade Center. Missouri Valley Commissioner Doug Elgin made that announcement Thursday, while also announcing the annual basketball celebration will stay in St. Louis at least until 2020.

That year will mark the 30^th edition of Arch Madness in St. Louis, as the Valley continues to host the second longest, single city league tournament in the nation. Only the Big East’s tournament at Madison Square Garden has been played longer. This coming spring the Big East will host its 38^th straight conference tournament in New York and the MVC hosts its 28^th in downtown St. Louis.

Scottrade Center is undergoing renovations and improvements that Associate Commissioner Jack Watkins calls ‘state of the art.’

“Scottrade Center has been the home for our men’s basketball tournament since 1995, and we look forward to an enhanced experience for our fans at the building in 2018,” said Watkins, who is also the Arch Madness Tournament Director.  “A new state-of-the-art center-hung scoreboard plus an updated sound system and lighting within the bowl are just some of the cornerstone improvements.”

At a press conference at Scottrade’s ‘Blue Note Lounge’ Commissioner Elgin was clearly excited about the tournament remaining in its St. Louis home.

 

 

Alex Rodrigo (VP of Sports & Entertainment Operations for the St. Louis Blues) says the first phase of the Scottrade Center improvements will cost around $30 million. Watkins goes on to say that some of the improvements will be obvious to fans, but others will benefit the coaches of and players of MVC teams and the squads participating in NCAA Tournament events.

 

 

Watkins points out that 2020 will not only be the 30^th year of Arch Madness, but will bring the NCAA Tournament back to the Gateway City.

“This 2020 vision – not only for the 30th chapter of Arch Madness but our NCAA host opportunity in the same year – cannot be emphasized enough.  With new buildings opening in the Midwest and the NCAA returning to other cities in the central corridor, we are grateful for the commitment shown to keep St. Louis at the forefront as a postseason college basketball site.”

Rodrigo says there are great changes taking place as Scottrade Center, and as a University of Missouri alum, Watkins enjoys the idea that last spring the Valley surpassed the Big 8/Big 12 event’s longevity record (26 years), as not only the second longest currently running, single city, league tournament, but also, the second longest running in NCAA history.

 

Scot trade has hosted five NCAA Tournament events with the next one coming during the historic 2020 season.

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