Phoenix Local Organizing Committee (PLOC) President Jay Parry’s voice was hoarse, so she couldn’t address the media when the 2026 Women’s Final Four logo was unveiled at Footprint Center on Monday, Dec. 9.
But Phoenix hosting Super Bowl LVII and the Diamondbacks’ World Series run in 2023, the 2024 Men’s Final Four and WNBA All-Star Game, the 2027 NBA All-Star Game, and the Women’s Final Four next April speaks for itself as the nation’s top destination for major sporting events over the past two years and counting.
Arizona State women’s basketball coach Natasha Adair also said the 2026 women’s Phoenix Final Four can help sound the alarm about her program to top high school recruits and players in the transfer portal.
“Our (ASU) men just did it,” Adair said after the ceremony. “Bobby (Hurley) talked about what it was like to host the Men’s Final Four, and now we get to bring it here to Phoenix.”
ASU is the Phoenix Women’s Final Four host school. Adair explained how important the 2024 Men’s Final Four at Arizona Cardinals State Farm Stadium last April was to ASU men’s hoops coach Hurley and his program.
The ASU men’s basketball team had a losing 14-18 record last season. It’s not confirmed whether this year’s men’s Phoenix Final Four factored into Hurley having the nation’s No. 6 recruiting class entering this season, including ASU’s highest-ranked freshman ever in Jayden Quintance. The team is currently on a stellar 8-1 start overall, 4-0 in its first Big 12 conference season.
Adair is in her third season rebuilding the ASU women’s team. Last season the team finished with a dismal 1-17 conference record and 8-20 overall. The program is off to an improved 5-4 start this season before beginning conference play at Utah on Dec. 21.
Adair is elated the Women’s Final Four will be held for the first time ever in the Valley and hopes it can amplify her recruiting pitch.
“Recruiting’s awesome,” Adair said. “I get to say, ‘You get to come here, but not only come and be a part of obviously the Big 12 conference and play on the biggest stage, you get to be a part of 2026.’ Right? That’s our dream.”
.@SunDevilWBB coach Natasha Adair on how the 2026 Women’s Final Four can attract top players to ASU:
“‘You get to come here, but not only come and be a part of obviously the Big 12 conference and play on the biggest stage, you get to be a part of 2026.’ Right? That’s our dream.” pic.twitter.com/sheTOTNUAP
— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) December 9, 2024
‘It’s an opportunity to ride the wave’
Footprint Center, where next year’s Women’s Final Four will be played, has hosted numerous media days for major sporting events. It has and will continue to draw Hollywood celebrities, legends from various sports, sell-out crowds and boost the local economy.
Organizing committee Vice President Kyle Hedstrom praised the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury as “tremendous supporters” of the 2026 Women’s Final Four.
“When you’ve got the GOAT (Diana Taurasi) and you’ve got a phenomenal Suns team, both on the court and off, that’s something that you can’t replace,” Hedstrom said to The Republic. “For those groups, we’ve got 480 days to find ways to tie everybody in and make sure our goal is the best Final Four of all time, and it’s gonna take everyone that we can involve to make it sell.”
The NCAA’s VP of women’s basketball Lynn Holzman recognizes that Phoenix, besides its tourist attractions, has been a basketball town since the Suns’ dawn in 1968. She believes it’s perfect timing to usher in the women’s Final Four off the coattails of the event’s highest TV viewership and attendance ever in Cleveland earlier this year.
Holzman also said ticket sales for the 2025 Women’s Final Four exceeded 100,000 within 16 hours.
“It’s an opportunity to ride the wave.”
NCAA women’s basketball VP Lynn Holzman on the having the 2026 Women’s Final Four in Phoenix.
The city hosted the 2024 Men’s Final Four, 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl 57 in Feb. 2023, and will have the 2027 NBA All-Star Game, too. pic.twitter.com/mxz0ENHSDP
— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) December 9, 2024
“It’s an opportunity to ride the wave,” Holzman said about Phoenix as a host city. “There’s been so much momentum, and for us to be part of that continued momentum, it’s an opportunity that you have to embrace.”
Holzman added more about how the Women’s Final Four differs from the Men’s Final Four because it’s held in downtown locations within NBA and NHL arenas rather than stadiums. She also discussed how the diversity of men’s and women’s sports benefits the city, fans, pro sports leagues and NCAA teams such as ASU.
“I’ve always taken the attitude that there’s room for all of us at the table,” Holzman said. “And we need to work to continue to elevate all of different — whether it’s men’s sports, women’s sports, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, all of that, we all have a place within this.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 2026 Women’s Final Four will be held in Phoenix
