News / ACC TOURNAMENT HEADED TO ATLANTA IN 2012

The Atlantic Coast Conference today announced that Atlanta and the Georgia Dome have been chosen to host its Men's Basketball Tournament in 2012. Atlanta has hosted the tournament once before in 2001 and will also host the event in 2009.

"We are very excited with today's announcement," said Georgia Dome General Manager Carl Adkins. "The Georgia Dome is home to the greatest sporting events in the world and we consider basketball to be a specialty. In fact, more basketball games have been played in our stadium than football games!"

The Georgia Dome just hosted the exciting NCAA Regional - with Louisiana State University advancing to the Final Four - and next March, the madness returns to the Dome with the NCAA Men's Final Four.

The Atlanta hosting partnership of the Atlanta Sports Council and Georgia Dome, which has teamed up to successfully host a number of mega events in the Dome, will again pool their resources to deliver the ACC a first-class destination and an unparralled tournament experience for the ACC's member institutions and fans.

"Atlanta is a great city for collegiate sports because it provides a world-class facility, is easily accessible by both air and car, offers an abundance of hotel accommodations and shopping and dining options and provides an unforgettable big-game atmosphere for fans," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Sports Council president.

The Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Olympic Park, together, form the world's largest sports and entertainment complex, with a standard of excellence that has attracted the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, world-class conventions and tradeshows and family entertainment .

The ACC was founded in 1953. Member institutions are Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

The Atlanta Sports Council promotes the value of sports growth in Atlanta and Georgia by acting as an authority on the economic impact, visibility and quality of life issues associated with sports. Its mission is to lead, organize and support sports development with the goal of building Atlanta's reputation as the Sports Capital of the World. For more information, please visit www.AtlantaSportsCouncil.com.

For more information about the Georgia Dome visit www.gadome.com. Visit the ACC at www.theacc.com.