The NCAA and the city of Indianapolis have reached an agreement that provides a layer of protection for some of the Association's high-profile events and guarantees Indiana's capital city of hosting those events annually on a rotating basis.

In the agreement announced February 4, the NCAA and the Indiana Sports Corporation revealed that they had entered into a "memorandum of understanding" that will pave the way for the NCAA to bring a number of high-profile events to Indianapolis. Included in the list of events are the Men's and Women's Final Fours, preliminary-round games of the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and the NCAA Convention. The events will be scheduled on a five-year rotating cycle that begins after current contractual obligations for the NCAA events have been fulfilled and continues through the term of the NCAA's lease for its national office building in Indianapolis, which lasts at least through 2039.

The agreement establishes Indianapolis as a permanent backup site for the Men's and Women's Final Fours when they are scheduled in other locations, should an emergency occur in those locations that causes the event to be relocated.

That arrangement provides an important component to the NCAA's risk-management goals and significantly reduces the cost of securing event-cancellation insurance. That is an important outcome for the NCAA, which has stepped up its risk-management planning since September 11, 2001. A primary unresolved element of the plan was the identification of a backup venue that could be quickly engaged should a disruption occur.

In exchange, Indianapolis is guaranteed of hosting one of the Association's high-profile events every year. Part of the arrangement also calls for Indianapolis to ensure that "the NCAA's current location continues to meet the needs of the Association in the future." That includes such capital projects as making land available for future expansion of the headquarters, as well as the creation of additional parking for the dedicated use of the NCAA.

"This is a good day for the state of Indiana, the city of Indianapolis and for the NCAA," said NCAA President Myles Brand. "We can all chalk up wins here."

Brand said the agreement addresses several Association needs, the most important of which is to have a backup site available for the NCAA's larger events.

"Anyone who stages major events in this country has a heightened responsibility to plan for contingencies we might not have contemplated a few years ago," Brand said. "The fact that our staff is here, the quality of Central Indiana's venues, and our experience with Indianapolis, Butler University and the Horizon League as event hosts made this the logical place to focus our contingency-planning efforts."

Indianapolis is a familiar NCAA championships venue. The city has staged the Men's Final Four four times and is scheduled to host again in 2006 and 2010. In addition, Indianapolis has hosted 10 preliminary-round sessions in the men's tournament. The Women's Final Four will be in Indianapolis for the first time in 2005. Overall, more than 40 NCAA championships have been conducted in Indianapolis during the past two decades. The annual NCAA Convention was held in Indianapolis for the first time in 2002 and will be held there again in 2006, the Association's Centennial.

The Horizon League and Butler have been instrumental as hosts for many of these events. Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis will be added as an institutional host for events awarded under the new agreement.

"Indianapolis makes sense for a backup venue for a number of reasons," Brand said. "The Indiana Sports Corporation, and its NCAA-member partners of the Horizon League, Butler and IUPUI, as well as the city, have experience hosting these high-profile events. Adequate facilities exist in the city and area to accommodate the events, and national office personnel are available to help staff an event should it become necessary."

The Indiana Sports Corporation will be charged with identifying backup sites for the events when they are conducted in Indianapolis.

The rotation of the future events has yet to be determined and the agreement does not preclude Indianapolis from bidding on other NCAA events.

The agreement also extends the NCAA's current lease on its national office and Hall of Champions for an additional 10 years through 2039, with options on three 10-year lease extensions through 2069.

Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan said the agreement represents a "new milestone" in the state's relationship with the NCAA. He pointed to a recently completed study indicating that the NCAA produced an annual economic impact for the state of more than $63 million. The study also showed that the five events referenced in the memorandum of understanding currently combine to produce $67 million in direct spending for the city.

"There were great expectations to see economic benefits from the NCAA's move here," Kernan said. "We've realized -- in fact we've exceeded -- those expectations."

Kernan said the 2006 Men's Final Four is projected to pump another $47 million into the city.

The agreement is of particular interest locally since negotiations are under way between the city and the NFL's Indianapolis Colts concerning a new stadium in Indianapolis. The RCA Dome, the current site for Colts home games and the NCAA Final Fours, is in its third decade.

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson told reporters at the announcement that while the agreement has no direct impact on the ongoing negotiations with the Colts, a new facility could factor into the NCAA agreement. He said even the 2010 Men's Final Four scheduled for the RCA Dome "could be subject to change."

"It may be likely that there may be a new stadium after that (2010) if not before," Peterson said.