Minneapolis added as host site for Big Ten basketball tournaments

The Big Ten is adding Minneapolis as a host city for its basketball tournaments beginning in 2023.

Minneapolis will host the Big Ten women's basketball tournament in 2023 and both the men's and women's tournaments in 2024. All three events will take place at the Target Center, site of the women's Final Four earlier this month. In 2019, Minneapolis hosted the men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium.

«This is a huge opportunity for our Big Ten footprint, our fan base, not only in Minneapolis but the state of Minnesota, and nationally and regionally,» Diana Sabau, the Big Ten's deputy commissioner and chief sports officer, told ESPN. «Minneapolis is coming off of hosting the women's Final Four this year. They hosted a recent men's Final Four, and they just have a tremendous basketball mentality in the city with their two professional teams. So we're really excited to bring that to a new location and to give other Big Ten cities the opportunity to host our marquee events.»

The Big Ten also announced Wednesday that its football championship game will remain in Indianapolis in 2023 and 2024. The 2022 game previously was announced for Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium, which has hosted every Big Ten football championship since the event launched in 2011. The Big Ten also previously announced its 2023 men's basketball tournament will take place in Chicago at the United Center.

The Big Ten men's basketball tournament, launched in 1998, has alternated between Chicago and Indianapolis for much of its existence, with Washington hosting in 2017 and New York the following year. The 2017 and 2018 events drew some criticism for their locations, especially the New York event, which took place a week earlier than usual to accommodate the Big