Pepsi Center - March Madness 2008 - March Madness

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination tournament held each spring featuring 65 college basketball teams in the United States. Colloquially known as March Madness (as the tournament takes place mainly during the month of March) or the Big Dance (as opposed to the now smaller and less prestigious NIT), the tournament takes place over 3 weeks at sites across the United States, and the national semifinals (the Final Four) have become one of the nation's most prominent sporting events.
Since its 1939 inception (a brainchild of Phog Allen at the University of Kansas), it has built a legacy that includes dynasty teams and dramatic underdog stories. In recent years, friendly wagering on the event has become something of a national pastime, spawning countless "office pools" that attract expert fans and novices alike. All games of the tournament are broadcast on the CBS broadcast television network in the United States, except for the Opening Round game (or "play-in game" as it has been called), which aired on TNN in 2001, and ESPN since 2002.

The tournament bracket is made up of conference tournament champions from each Division I conference, which receive automatic bids. The remaining slots are at-large berths, with teams chosen by an NCAA selection committee. The selection process and tournament seedings are based on several factors, including team rankings, win-loss records and RPI data.
Two low-seeded teams (typically teams with poor records that qualified by winning their conference tournament championships) play the "opening round" game to determine which will advance into the first round of the tournament, with the winner advancing to play the top seed in one of the four regions. The opening Round game was added in 2001 and has been played in University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio each subsequent year. The opening round is considered part of the tournament and is often referred to as a "play-in" game.

Pepsi Center (aka The Can is an arena located in Denver, Colorado, USA. The building is home to the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth and Colorado Crush. When not in use by one of Denver's sports teams, the building frequently serves as a concert venue. Pepsi Center is scheduled to be the main venue of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The arena is properly called "Pepsi Center," not "The Pepsi Center."

Pepsi Center was constructed as part of a massive 6-year sporting venue upgrade in Denver along with Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, and Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos. The complex was constructed in order to be readily accessible. The arena sits on Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by a nearby exit off of Interstate 25. There is also a light rail station on the western side of the complex.

Ground was broken for the arena on November 20, 1997, on the 4.6 acre site. Its completion in October of 1999 was marked by a Celine Dion concert. Capacity for the building is listed at 19,309 for basketball games, 18,007 for hockey and lacrosse, and 17,210 for arena football games. Also included in the complex are a basketball practice facility used by the Nuggets, and the Blue Sky Grill, a restaurant accessible from within and outside the Center itself. The atrium of the building houses a suspended sculpture depicting various hockey and basketball athletes in action poses.

On Sunday, March 16, the 65-team bracket for the 2008 NCAA� Division I Men's Basketball Championship� will be announced at 5pm CST on CBS.
Tune in to all the 2008 Championship action on CBS beginning Thursday, March 20. The Opening Round game will be broadcast live on ESPN on Tuesday, March 18.
Game times will be confirmed and announced no later than 3:30pm on Monday afternoon, March 17 on.................................................. www.NCAAsports.com.

March 18, 2008
UD Arena
Dayton, Ohio
Host: University of Dayton
UD Arena Concierge

March 20 and 22, 2008
Honda Center
Anaheim, California
Host: Big West Conference
Honda Center Concierge

Pepsi Center
Denver, Colorado
Hosts: Colorado State University
Pepsi Center Concierge

Qwest Center Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Hosts: Creighton University
Qwest Center Omaha Concierge

Verizon Center
Washington, D.C.
Host: Georgetown University
Verizon Center Concierge

March 21 and 23, 2008
BJCC Arena
Birmingham, Alabama
Host: Southeastern Conference
BJCC Arena Concierge

Alltel Arena
Little Rock, Arkansas
Host: University of Arkansas
Alltel Arena Concierge

RBC Center
Raleigh, North Carolina
Host: North Carolina State University
RBC Center Concierge

St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa, Florida
Host: University of South Florida
St Pete Times Forum Concierge

March 27 and 29, 2008

East Regional
Charlotte Bobcats Arena
Charlotte, North Carolina
Host: University of North Carolina
Charlotte Arena Concierge

West Regional
US Airways Center
Phoenix, Arizona
Host: Arizona State University
US Airways Center Concierge

March 28 and 30, 2008

Midwest Regional
Ford Field
Detroit, Michigan
Host: University of Detroit Mercy
Ford Field Concierge

South Regional
Reliant Stadium
Houston, Texas
Host: University of Houston and Rice
Reliant Stadium Concierge

Final Four: April 5 and 7, 2008
Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas
Host: Univ. of Texas-San Antonio
Alamodome Concierge

Before the construction of Pepsi Center, the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche played in McNichols Sports Arena, a building that has since been torn down to serve as a parking lot for nearby Invesco Field.

Future events at the building will include the NCAA Men's ice hockey Frozen Four tournament on April 10 and April 12, 2008. Pepsi Center will also host the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament as a first and second round site. It hosted the tournament in the same fashion in 2004. The center was also used in aerial shot of the 2007 film Blades of Glory starring Will Ferrell.