The SEC basketball tournament will continue to call Nashville its home every year but one through 2030, and possibly through 2035.
The league announced its new agreement with the Nashville Sports Council late Tuesday, a deal that will keep the SEC’s postseason basketball event in the Music City for much of the next two decades. The 2022 SEC tournament will take place in Tampa; all others will be held in Nashville until the contract expires.
“Nashville has proven to be an outstanding home for Southeastern Conference basketball and we are pleased to reconfirm this long-term relationship with Music City as the host for these championship events,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “Nashville provides tremendous support for this tournament, creates lasting memories for our student-athletes and offers an outstanding experience and venue for our fans.”
The new deal runs through 2030, with an option to extend it through 2035. Nashville has hosted the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena four times since 2013, including three straight years from 2015-17.
The tournament took place at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in 2014, while the 2018 event was held in St. Louis. The 2019, 2020 and 2021 events are scheduled for Nashville, then it returns to Bridgestone Arena in 2023 after a one-year visit to Tampa.
The SEC has gone away from rotating its championships among several cities in recent years, making Atlanta its permanent home for the football championship game and Hoover its primary destination for baseball. The SEC baseball tournament has been held at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium every year since 1998 under the terms of a contract that runs through 2021.
“The SEC has experienced success with long-term championship site agreements in Atlanta for football, Hoover for baseball and now Nashville for men’s basketball,” Sankey said. “Similarly, we expect to identify a long-term home for our women’s basketball tournament beyond 2022.”
The 2019 SEC basketball tournament runs March 13-17.