The NCAA Men’s Final Four championship was an excellent opportunity for the St. Louis area to shine under the national spotlight. And the region responded well, local organizing director Missy Slay told the St. Louis PRSA luncheon attendees, April 20. Most of the $3.3 million required by the NCAA just to host the tournament was raised locally. And 25 committees led the region’s effort, which actually began well before the city was awarded the event in 1998.

To put the region’s best foot forward, organizers wanted to provide the 85,000 visitors with plenty to do when they walked out of their hotels. Their strategy was to get people out into the city and the surrounding to sample the “St. Louis experience.” One experience was the “Taste of St. Louis” event at which 20 restaurants provided samples of their food to visitors in downtown St. Louis.

At the 2001 Women’s Final Four chaired by Slay, also, the organizing committee introduced a “March to the Arch” event to get families to visit downtown and get involved. It went so well in 2001 that the NCAA adopted it for subsequent championship tournaments. Slay said organizers of the 2005 Men’s Final Four wanted 3,000 participants to dribble basketballs down city streets. Although the organizes provided 3,000 free basketballs, a total of 7,500 people wound up dribbling basketballs on downtown streets. The 4,500 who didn’t receive a ball brought balls with them, which contributed to the success of the world-record-setting event, she said.

The music and entertainment program on the Sunday of the 2005 Men's championship weekend, was designed to be a huge street fest. Slay said it was rewarding to overhear visits say what a great city St. Louis was and that they could not wait until their next family vacation to return to St. Louis. Creating such experiences was an ultimate goal of the organizers.

Visitors like to shop, organizers noted. So they created a positive shopping experience at St. Louis Center by bringing in vendors to sell Final Four memorabilia, clothing and the like. A Hoops Café was set up in the center with food and big-screen TVs for visitors who may not have had tickets to the event.

Working with Metro, a special six-day unlimited pass was offered to provide a means by which downtown visitors could sample other areas in the St. Louis area. The organizers also worked with the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission to provide event schedules and caps to all taxicab drivers so they felt part of the event and could provide strong customer service. To help visitors experience Laclede’s Landing, a temporary pathway between the Landing and the Edward Jones Dome was created with foliage and lighting.The preliminary estimate of the event’s economic impact on the region stood at $50 million, Slay said, including 8,000 rooms and 55,000 room nights. Steps were taken to incorporate the National Association of Basketball Coaches meeting held in St. Louis coinciding with the Final Four.

The purpose of the Open Practice the day before the event began was to allow people who didn’t have tickets to see the athletes in action. More than 33,000 attended the "practice" - a tournament record.

Plans are now underway, Slay said, to bid on the next Men’s Final Fours that are up for grabs: 2012, 2013 and 2014. Local big event organizers won't have to wait that long, however. The Women's Final Four basketball championship returns here in 2009.

^{Review edited from notes taken by Chuck Reitter, President-Elect}"

Final Four: Final Four - April 2005