Jan. 27, 2004

When members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women's Basketball Committee came to New Orleans in 1999 to inspect the city's new arena as a potential site for the 2004 Women's Basketball Final Four, they were supplied with hard hats and asked to use their imagination.

The gleaming new New Orleans Sports Arena had opened just months before, but many areas of the building were still unfinished, including locker and meeting rooms, club seating areas and suites. Dirt floors, unfinished parking lots and empty rooms greeted the committee, whose task was to choose a location for an event that was quickly growing into the most visible and largest scale women's sports competition in the country.

Still, what they saw was impressive enough that, a few weeks later, the committee took a chance on a city, a presentation and an unfinished building that at the time was without a professional sports team or a full-time college tenant.

In truth, the Women's Basketball Committee really put its trust in the city of New Orleans and in its people - the people of Tulane Athletics, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation (GNOSF) and SMG, the management company for the New Orleans Arena. And on April 4-6, 2004, that trust will be rewarded when Tulane University serves as host institution for the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four.

While more than 18,000 fans will pack the New Orleans Arena on game days, the reach of this marquee event extends far beyond that number. Millions will watch hours of live programming from the Crescent City, culminating with the championship game on April 6th, televised live by ESPN. Women's basketball coaches from around the country will jam the convention center for their annual meeting, held in conjunction with the Women's Final Four.

Auxiliary events like the WBCA Night of Stars (high school and college all-star games) at Fogelman Arena, NCAA Hoop City in the Louisiana Superdome, open practice day on Saturday prior to the National Semifinals and a series of YES (Youth Education through Sports) Clinics held throughout the area will bring positive publicity and even more people to New Orleans, while also benefitting local youth.

"Events like the Women's Final Four illustrate how Tulane Athletics is a vital part of this city," said Rick Dickson, Tulane Director of Athletics. "In partnering with the Sports Foundation and SMG to bring great events like this to New Orleans, everyone wins. The city and its businesses, the youth of the community, and the general public who have an opportunity to attend Hoop City or the open practices, even without a game ticket, all benefit from the experience."

While the Women's Final Four is an NCAA Championship event, New Orleanians have a chance to be directly involved by signing up to volunteer through the GNOSF by completing a volunteer application at www.gnosports.com/ncaa/, while members of the Green Wave Athletics staff will have a primary role in the administration of the games. The contest between Tulane and LSU at the New Orleans Arena on December 30th served as a "dress rehearsal" for the arena as the facility was set up as it will be in April.

"It's exciting for our team to be around the championship environment, starting in October when several of our players had a chance to meet with the women's basketball committee," said Tulane women's basketball coach Lisa Stockton, whose team has been to nine straight NCAA Tournaments. "Everywhere we go this season, people will be talking about New Orleans and getting to New Orleans."

For women's basketball teams chasing the dream of an NCAA Championship in 2004, "New Orleans" is firing their imagination.

And this time, there's no need to bring a hard hat.