Philadelphia lands NCAA East Regional in 2016

The NCAA has awarded the 2016 East Regional for men's basketball to Philadelphia, marking the fifth time the Wells Fargo Center will host the event.

The announcement came Monday, when the NCAA Division I men's basketball committee disclosed the sites for preliminary rounds and regionals from 2016 through 2018.

The 2016 regional semifinals and finals, which will be played on March 25 and 27, will be hosted by La Salle.

The Philadelphia Sports Congress estimated that about 5,000 room nights and $10 million in economic impact would be generated for the city.

The Wells Fargo Center, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2016, last hosted the East Regional in 2001. Preliminary rounds in 2006, 2009, and 2013 also were held there, with the 2009 tournament marking the start of Villanova's run to the Final Four.

The NCAA also announced a change in the way the early rounds are designated. The opening pair of doubleheaders in Dayton, Ohio, will be referred to as "First Four," with the weekend games returning to first- and second-round status, rather than second and third rounds.

Overall, this is the 28th time Philadelphia will host a portion of the NCAA tournament. The Final Four was held at the Spectrum in 1976 and 1981. The Spectrum also hosted arguably the greatest tournament game of all time, the 1992 regional final, with Duke beating Kentucky on Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater.

The Palestra also has hosted NCAA tournament games, the last ones being a preliminary-round triple-header in 1984.

This will be the eighth NCAA championship event hosted by the Wells Fargo Center since 2000. The NCAA Frozen Four hockey championships were played there last year.