South Jersey Basketball: NCAA Brings Women's Basketball Tournament to Trenton in 2006 Sovereign Bank Arena to Host NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament First and Second Round Games Friday, July 9 2004 By Laura Hillenius Sovereign Bank Arena Marketing Assistant The NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Committee has selected the Sovereign Bank Arena, a Global Spectrum-managed facility with experience in hosting NCAA Tournaments, as a site for the 2006 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championships first- and second-rounds. This event will be a collaborative effort between Global Spectrum, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), and Rider University, whom are all partnering together to bring this event to Mercer County. "We are very proud to have been selected to host such a prestigious event. This was made possible by Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes and Mercer County Improvement Authority Executive Director Phil Miller who continually lend the County's support and resources to enable us to attract such major events," said Global Spectrum's Mike Scanlon, general manager for the Sovereign Bank Arena. Global Spectrum's experience in hosting numerous Tournament games with the NCAA played a large part in bringing the games to Trenton, according to Scanlon. Global Spectrum has hosted the NCAA Women's Final Four at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA, in 2000; the NCAA Women's First and Second Round games at the Constant Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion University in 2003; the NCAA Women's Mid-East Regionals at the Constant Center in 2004; and the NCAA Women's First and Second Round games at the Liacouras Center at Temple University in 2004. The Philadelphia-based company has hosted men's basketball tournaments, as well as women's ice hockey tournaments in some of its other facilities. "Rider University is extremely pleased and excited to serve as a co-host for the 2006 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. It's an honor to be selected and we look forward to working closely with the MACC and the Global Spectrum staff at the Sovereign Bank Arena to make the event a tremendous success, " offered Curt Blake, Rider University Athletic Director. Sovereign Bank Arena will host games either Saturday, March 18, Monday, March 20 or Sunday, March 19, and Tuesday, March 21, 2006. The exact dates for the 2006 first and second round sites will be announced at a later date. Ticket information will be announced at a later date.