High school basketball championships to stay at BJCC - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

High school basketball championships to stay at BJCC

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By Nate Hall - email
Savarese and Bell announce the new agreement. (Photo: Alan Collins) Savarese and Bell announce the new agreement. (Photo: Alan Collins)
BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) -

The Executive Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association, Steve Savarese, and Birmingham Mayor William Bells announced on Wednesday that the AHSAA Final 48 State Basketball Championships will stay at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Complex until 2020.

The current agreement runs through 2015. The new agreement extends this another five years.

"We are proud to extend the Final 48 contract," Savarese said. "This solidifies our basketball championships through the rest of this decade and insures that our student-athletes and schools will be afforded the experience of life-long memories. It has been a symbiotic relationship between the AHSAA and the City of Birmingham. We have a great venue and the economic impact has been very important for Birmingham."

Mayor Bell stated that he felt the championships were an important part of defining the Magic City.

"This extension is a step forward in our efforts to make Birmingham a great sports city," said Mayor Bell. "With the NCAA Division II Winter Championship Festival coming in a few weeks, and a new baseball stadium being completed this spring, we are certainly proving that Birmingham is the center for hosting sporting events."

This is the 90th year for the boys AHSAA State Basketball Championships and the 36th year for girls. The first one was played at the Birmingham YMCA.

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