TSE Consulting congratulates its US City Clients Phoenix and Columbus for their successful NCAA Final Four Bids

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced this week the future sites for both the Men’s and Women’s Final Four through 2020. Phoenix and Columbus, were successful in securing the right to host the most important events in American intercollegiate sport.

TSE Consulting congratulates both of its clients on their accomplishments. These awards were the culmination of an 18 month process that required collaboration, cooperation and communication among numerous partners and stakeholders. Both Phoenix and Columbus executed their strategic plans flawlessly, which resulted in their success.

Phoenix was announced as the host of the 2017 Men’s Final Four to be hosted at University of Phoenix Stadium April 1-3, 2017. This marks the first time the Final Four will be played in the West since 1995 when it was hosted in Seattle. The Phoenix bid was a collaborative effort, with Arizona State University and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, local municipalities, sports organisations and tourism bureaus working together under one banner.

"With multiple municipalities and partners involved, a high-level of coordination and direction was critical. TSE Consulting was instrumental in helping us develop a targeted bid strategy relative to our Men’s Final Four bid," said Tom Sadler, President and CEO of the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority. "Not only were they helpful in the development of the strategy, they ensured the strategy was executed throughout the process, including the bid book development, in-person site visit and final presentation."

In a separate announcement, Columbus, Ohio was awarded the 2018 Women’s Final Four to be contested in Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus. This will mark the first time Columbus will play host to this prestigious event, although not the first time for the Buckeye state (Ohio), having hosted in 1997 in Cincinnati and 2007 in Cleveland.

"The Women’s Final Four is the largest and most prestigious event Columbus can host. We’ve been working towards this announcement for more than 10 years. TSE Consulting was a great partner throughout the Women’s Final Four bid process", said Linda Logan, Executive Director of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. "They helped us develop our overall strategy with the critical message points to be delivered in each stage of the process. Their coordination of the process was key as they kept our partners focused on our strategic objectives which ultimately resulted in Columbus being awarded the Women’s Final Four."

Dale Neuburger, Director, TSE Consulting North America, said: "We are really proud to have been a part of these exciting bids. The determination and commitment to showcasing their organising ability and added value to the NCAA never waivered. Competition between American cities for these top events is very high and both cities gave it their all."

These two awards add to an already successful year for other TSE Consulting clients in winning prestigious NCAA championship events, including, Kansas City with 14 NCAA championship bids received; Birmingham with 11 NCAA championship bids received; Columbus and The Ohio State University with eight NCAA championship bids received; and, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with four NCAA championship bids received.

For more information, please contact:

Caroline Anderson, TSE Consulting Senior Consultant

Phone: +41 21 313 23 00

Email: canderson@tseconsulting.com

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