CLEVELAND — The NCAA Women’s Final Four basketball tournament is coming to Cleveland on April 5 and 7. It’s been 17 years since Cleveland hosted the tournament, and officials are expecting it to be a historic year.
Women’s basketball has seen an increase in fans and viewership in the last few seasons. Last year’s championship game, where LSU beat Iowa, was the most-watched NCAA women’s basketball game with 9.9 million viewers.
The CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission says they are expecting 20,000 people from all over the country to attend the 2-day tournament.
“In many ways, right now, women's college basketball is as popular if not more popular than men's college basketball, I think Cleveland is really going to be the beneficiary of that being the case,” said Gilbert.
He said when Cleveland was originally awarded the opportunity to host in 2024, they were estimating bringing in $25 million, but since women’s basketball has drastically grown in popularity these last few years they are now expecting to see a much bigger number.
“This event has become the epicenter of women's sports in this country, so it’s not just the basketball tournament, but there are so many other organizations that are hosting events during that time particularly focused on women and women's sports that will put Cleveland in the spotlight," said Gilbert.
Local Coach Rakayla Iwais hopes the impact of the tournament will go far beyond money.
“I think it’s just a great starting point to talk about the things that women can do and how sports can take you to the next level. I coach young women, and it's just so exciting to hear them be excited to talk about these things and realize that women's sports are on the map, too. They now will know it’s not just about the men, and we can host something like a Women’s Final Four in a championship here in Cleveland."
She said she is looking forward to seeing a boost in confidence and pride in Northeastern Ohio Women's athletics.
“It’s going to teach our girls that we can have those sheroes and those idols that we can look up to, and we can be an Aja Wilson or a Caitlyn Clark, we don't have to just be the Steph Curry's. I think that having it here in our own backyard, girls in Northeast Ohio can use those names instead of having to say I want to be like the LeBron’s or the Michael Jordan's," said Iwais.
Iwais attended the Women’s Final Four tournament in Cleveland 17 years ago; she said it had been an honor to see how much women's sports had grown since 2007 when the land played host to Tennessee, LSU, Rutgers and North Carolina. Tennessee would beat Rutgers with one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, Candance Parker.
“It’s really been an exciting last couple of years in women's sports; women have really shattered glass ceilings, breaking attendance records, viewership records, as well as coaches breaking all-time winning records. It’s just been a fun ride to watch,” and I am excited to see it blossom here in Cleveland,” said Iwais.
