Women’s Final 4 events begin in Tampa

Tourney time heats up in downtown Tampa

FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - The pre-game festivities ahead of the 2025 Women's Final Four in Tampa are underway.

"Tourney Town" opened Thursday afternoon at the Tampa Convention Center.

Cheerleaders perform at Tourney Town.

This is the first of many free events for fans over the next several days.

What they're saying:

"It's interactive," Lynn Holzman, the NCAA Women's VP of Basketball, said. "It's for all different ages. And frankly, when you talk about major sporting events, fans expect to have a lot of experiences."

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Fans can visit "Tourney Town" and play various games, shoot some hoops, shop for 2025 Women's Final Four merchandise and take a walk back through the history of women's basketball.

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People shoot hoops at Tourney Town.

"It is such a hot, difficult ticket to get to the games themselves," Holzman said. "That's awesome that we have such high demand and people that go to the games. We've been selling out the games for years."

Big picture view:

The 2025 Women's Final Four marks the fourth Women's Final Four that Tampa has hosted, after hosting in 2008, 2015 and 2019.

It's the only city to host the Women's Final Four times.

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The event is driving the legends of women's basketball to Tampa. Some of the greats say the talent and visibility of the sport are at an all-time high.

"And certainly, you know, Caitlin Clark, you know, takes us to another level and just the exposure and the excitement of women's basketball," said Cheryl Miller, a two-time NCAA champion with the University of Southern California and member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Throughout her decorated career, Miller has seen the momentum grow firsthand.

"Women's basketball and sports in general are here to stay, from social media exposure, television," Miller said. "It's just people are clamoring because women now have a platform, and we're excelling."

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Miller will be one of two coaches at the Lilly Women's College All-Star game on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Hillsborough Community College.

"Young ladies growing up, they can now see, 'Hey, this is who I want to emulate. This is what I want to follow, and this is a dream that I can now attain,'" Miller said.

Local perspective:

From watching some of the top seniors in women's college basketball to taking a trip to "Tourney Town" this weekend, the city expects at least 30,000 people to come to town for the Women's Final Four.

You can find information about all the free weekend events here.

The Source: FOX 13's Kylie Jones collected the information in this story.

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