March Madness in Las Vegas 2027: Tournament Dates, Watch Parties and Hotels

March Madness in Las Vegas 2027 comes in two waves: conference tournaments at five arenas from March 3 to 13, then the NCAA tournament’s opening weekend on sportsbook screens.

Last checked: November 8, 2026.

How we checked: on Nov. 8, 2026, we read the 2027 schedules published by NCAA.com and by the Big Ten, WCC, Mountain West, Pac-12 and Big West conferences, plus the T-Mobile Arena, Thomas & Mack and Lee’s Family Forum pages and the sportsbooks’ own March pages. Our hotel review method explains how we pick hotels, and no pick is sponsored.

March Madness Las Vegas 2027 schedule

Every date below comes from the conference or NCAA page named in the last column. Most tip times weren’t published on Nov. 8, so plan around days rather than sessions.

Event	2027 dates	Venue	Nearest hotels	Source
Big Ten women’s tournament	Wed.–Sun., March 3–7	T-Mobile Arena	Park MGM, New York-New York	Big Ten, Nov. 2, 2026
WCC men’s and women’s	Fri.–Tue., March 5–9	Orleans Arena	The Orleans	WCC, Oct. 5, 2026
Mountain West women’s	Sun.–Wed., March 7–10	Thomas & Mack Center	Virgin Hotels, Tuscany Suites	Mountain West, July 23, 2026
Pac-12 men’s and women’s	Tue.–Sat., March 9–13	MGM Grand Garden Arena	MGM Grand, The Signature	Pac-12, Sept. 24, 2026
Mountain West men’s	Wed.–Sat., March 10–13	Thomas & Mack Center	Virgin Hotels, Tuscany Suites	Mountain West, July 23, 2026
Big West men’s and women’s	Wed.–Sat., March 10–13	Lee’s Family Forum, Henderson	Green Valley Ranch	Big West, 2027 championship page
Selection Sunday	Sun., March 14	On TV and at sportsbooks	Circa, Westgate	NCAA.com, Sept. 15, 2026
NCAA men’s Opening Round	Tue.–Wed., March 16–17	Dayton, Ohio, and Wichita, Kan.	Any sportsbook hotel	NCAA.com, Sept. 15, 2026
NCAA men’s first and second rounds	Thu.–Sun., March 18–21	Eight cities, none in Nevada	Circa, Westgate, Caesars Palace	NCAA.com, Sept. 15, 2026
NCAA women’s regional (Sweet 16, Elite Eight)	Fri.–Mon., March 26–29	T-Mobile Arena	Park MGM, New York-New York	NCAA.com, May 7, 2026

The men’s first and second rounds play in two pods: Pittsburgh, Omaha, Fort Worth and Spokane on March 18 and 20, and Charlotte, Minneapolis, Louisville and Sacramento on March 19 and 21. The women’s early rounds run March 17–22 at campus sites. Full brackets are on NCAA.com’s men’s schedule and NCAA.com’s women’s schedule.

Saturday, March 13 is the pinch point. The Pac-12, Mountain West men’s and Big West championship games all fall that day, and FOX5 reported in March 2026 that Metallica’s Sphere residency ends with shows on March 11 and 13. A Sunday checkout that weekend lands on Selection Sunday.

Strip arenas: MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena

The Pac-12 plays its men’s and women’s tournaments side by side at MGM Grand Garden Arena, March 9–13, with the women’s games first each day. A Tuesday play-in opens each nine-team bracket, the top two seeds wait for Friday’s semifinals, and both finals are Saturday, the men’s at 5:30 p.m. PT on CBS.

T-Mobile Arena, at 3780 S. Las Vegas Blvd., hosts the 15-team Big Ten women’s tournament from Wednesday, March 3, to Sunday’s final; all seats are reserved, and all-session tickets are on sale at AXS. It returns March 26–29 for an NCAA women’s regional, whose teams won’t be known until Selection Sunday.

Hotel	Area	Best for	Resort fee	Parking	Booking.com
MGM Grand Las Vegas	South Strip	Pool lovers, show-goers, families	$50 + tax per night	Self-parking $20/day for hotel guests; valet $40/day	Check prices
The Signature at MGM Grand	South Strip	Families, non-gamblers, longer stays	$50 + tax per night	Valet only (complimentary for one car)	Check prices
New York-New York Hotel & Casino	South Strip	Families with teens, arena-goers, budget travelers	$45 + tax per night	Self-parking $20/day for hotel guests; valet $40/day	Check prices
Park MGM Las Vegas	Center Strip	Concert-goers, smoke-sensitive travelers	$50 + tax per night	Self-parking $20/day for hotel guests; valet $40/day	Check prices

MGM Grand covers both arenas best. The Grand Garden Arena is inside the resort, and MGM puts T-Mobile Arena 0.4 mile and about 10 minutes away on foot, over the New York-New York bridge and through The Park. The Signature’s non-gaming suite towers, with kitchenettes, sit behind MGM Grand and connect to it through The District, for groups that want more room between sessions.

For the Big Ten week or the regional, stay closer: MGM lists Park MGM 0.2 mile and New York-New York 0.3 mile from T-Mobile Arena, both under 5 minutes on foot. New York-New York’s resort fee is $45 plus tax against $50 at the other three (as of October 2026), and Park MGM’s casino is smoke-free. The three casino hotels charge guests $20 a day to self-park and each has a BetMGM sportsbook, so one app account covers all three; The Signature is valet only, complimentary for one car.

Our guides to hotels near MGM Grand Garden Arena and hotels near T-Mobile Arena compare room types and walking routes. Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay had no 2027 conference tournament on the schedules we checked; if one turns up on your ticket, use our Michelob ULTRA Arena hotel guide.

Thomas & Mack Center: Mountain West week

The Mountain West fills the Thomas & Mack Center for seven straight days. The women’s tournament runs Sunday, March 7, to Wednesday, March 10, and the men’s Wednesday, March 10, to Saturday, March 13, so that Wednesday is a doubleheader. All 10 teams play in each bracket; tip times “will be released at a later date,” per the Mountain West’s bracket announcement.

The arena sits on the UNLV campus at Tropicana Avenue and University Center Drive, east of the Strip and not inside a casino; UNLV Tickets’ directions run east on Tropicana from the Strip.

Hotel	Area	Best for	Resort fee	Parking	Booking.com
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas	Off-Strip	Drivers, Hilton members, repeat visitors	About $50 + tax per night (reported)	Free self-parking and valet	Check prices
Tuscany Suites & Casino	Off-Strip (East Flamingo Road)	Suite-focused casino stays, groups checking bedroom layouts	Check current mandatory charges in the final booking total	Confirm current parking terms for the selected reservation	Check prices
Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino	Paradise Road	Budget travelers, early or late flights	Confirm current mandatory charges in your selected rate	Free guest parking; confirm separate long-term parking conditions	Check prices

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is the closest full resort, about 0.64 mile from the arena in a straight line by our map calculation, and it parks guests free, self or valet. Silver Sevens (about 0.76 mile) and Tuscany Suites (about 1.06 miles) are the other casino hotels nearby. Walking routes run longer than these straight-line figures. Tuscany Suites has one practical bonus: a Circa Sports satellite book, so a Mountain West fan can stay put for the NCAA opening weekend. Our guide to hotels near the Thomas & Mack Center compares Virgin with the suite hotels on East Harmon Avenue.

Decision rule: if you’re in town only for the men’s bracket, Wednesday to Saturday, Virgin is the easy base. For the whole week, MGM Grand puts you on the Strip, on Tropicana and on the Monorail.

Orleans Arena: the WCC, March 5–9

The West Coast Conference returns to Orleans Arena “for the 19th consecutive year,” per the WCC, with reformatted 10-team men’s and women’s tournaments of nine games each, running Friday, March 5, through Tuesday, March 9. One change matters for crowds: Gonzaga now plays in the Pac-12, so its fans head to MGM Grand Garden Arena this year instead.

Hotel	Area	Best for	Resort fee	Parking	Booking.com
The Orleans Hotel & Casino	Off-Strip (West)	NFR fans, bowlers, value seekers	$46.32 per night, tax included	Self-parking and valet included in the resort fee	Check prices
Palms Casino Resort	Off-Strip	Drivers, repeat visitors	$43.99 + tax per night	Free self-parking and valet	Check prices
Rio Hotel & Casino	Off-Strip	Drivers, value seekers	$52 + tax per night	Free self-parking and valet	Check prices

The Orleans, at 4500 W. Tropicana Ave., is the hotel in the same complex as the arena, and its listing on the NFR’s official hotel page describes it as “less than two miles from the Las Vegas Strip and just four miles from the Thomas & Mack Center.” That makes it a sensible base for anyone covering the WCC and the first Mountain West days, which overlap March 7–9. Its resort fee is $46.32 a night including tax, and it covers self-parking and valet (as of October 2026). Palms and Rio, the other big west-side resorts, both park guests free, but each is a separate ride to the arena. Our Orleans Arena hotel guide covers the routes.

Henderson: the Big West at Lee’s Family Forum

The Big West plays its men’s and women’s championships at Lee’s Family Forum, 200 S. Green Valley Parkway in Henderson, from Wednesday, March 10, to Saturday, March 13: 16 teams and 14 games over four days. On Wednesday through Friday, the women play at noon and 2:30 p.m. and the men at 6 and 8:30 p.m.; Saturday’s finals had no times posted. The Big West’s championship page sends buyers to their school’s athletic ticket office.

Hotel	Area	Best for	Resort fee	Parking	Booking.com
Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa & Casino	Off-Strip (Henderson)	Drivers, families, spa stays	$51.30 per night (tax included)	Free parking	Check prices
M Resort Spa Casino	Off-Strip (Henderson)	Drivers, Raiders fans, quiet stays	$39.99 + tax per night	Free parking	Check prices

The arena describes itself as “steps away from The District at Green Valley Ranch and the Green Valley Ranch Resort Spa & Casino,” which makes Green Valley Ranch the natural base. It parks guests free, charges $51.30 a night with tax included (as of October 2026), and has an STN Sportsbook for the NCAA weekend that follows. M Resort is the cheaper Henderson alternative, at $39.99 plus tax with free parking, but it’s a separate drive to the arena.

If you drive to the games, use the arena’s own lots: prepaid parking is $12 and event-day parking $15, plus service fees, and the venue is cashless. The arena warns that The District “will tow cars that park in their lots and walk to the arena.” More on the area is in our guide to hotels near Lee’s Family Forum.

Where to watch the NCAA opening weekend in Las Vegas

No 2027 men’s tournament game is played in Las Vegas, so the opening weekend, Thursday, March 18, to Sunday, March 21, happens on sportsbook screens. Search for the venues’ own event names: Circa’s Mega March, Westgate’s Hoops Central and Caesars’ Hoops on the Strip. Visit Las Vegas listed about two dozen resorts and bars with 2026 watch parties, from Caesars Palace and Circa to Westgate and Wynn.

Sportsbook	Screen and seats	2027 status on Nov. 8	Seating rules
Circa Sports, Circa (downtown, 21+)	Three-story, 78-million-pixel screen	“Stay tuned for updates for the 2027 tournament”	Grandstands, recliners, booths and suites for groups up to 12; sold as packages in 2026
Westgate SuperBook (off-Strip)	220-by-18-foot 4K wall, more than 350 seats	Hoops Central “Returning in 2027”	Reserved game-day seats from $200 per AM, Noon or PM slot
Caesars Sportsbook, Caesars Palace (center Strip)	143-foot LED wall, 140 seats	Event page not readable on Nov. 8	Many seats sold as premium reservations with a food-and-drink minimum
Circa Sports, The D (downtown)	Multiple HD screens	Not yet posted	Free viewing parties March 18–21 in 2026; private rooms for groups of 8 or more

Circa is the pick if everyone is 21 or older, because the whole resort is 21+. Seating runs from grandstands and Legends Club recliners to Circa Club booths and Overhang Suites for up to 10. In 2026 its packages covered March 18–22, the second weekend and the Final Four, and Stadium Swim sold separate “Mania Under the Sun” tickets for its heated pools and 143-foot screen. Circa’s sister hotel on Fremont Street, The D, ran free viewing parties with a Circa Sports betting station, the budget version of the same night.

Westgate is the choice for smoke-free viewing, at a resort that, unlike Circa, takes guests under 21. Hoops Central shows the tournament in the International Theater, “in a smoke-free environment,” with luxury seating and table service, and the SuperBook sells reserved seats. Westgate’s Monorail station is on the same line as MGM Grand’s, which helps if you’re splitting a trip between Pac-12 week and the opening weekend.

Caesars Palace is the center-Strip book, with a screen that can show up to 16 games at once. Caesars’ Hoops on the Strip event page didn’t load when we checked, so confirm the 2027 details there before you book.

Three rules apply everywhere. Visit Las Vegas says sportsbook seating is typically free and first come, first served, though some seats may be held for active bettors during peak games, and it put all-inclusive watch parties at “$300+” in 2026. You must be 21 to bet. And betting apps need an in-person start: Circa Sports’ terms say you “must register in person at any Circa | Sports location,” bring valid photo ID and bet only while physically in Nevada. Our best sportsbooks in Las Vegas ranking compares hours and apps.

How to book a Las Vegas hotel for March Madness 2027

Pick your week first. Conference week, Tuesday, March 9, to Saturday, March 13, stacks three tournaments, plus the last Metallica shows at Sphere reported by FOX5. The opening weekend, Thursday, March 18, to Sunday, March 21, fills the sportsbooks. A trip covering both may need two bases, such as MGM Grand for the Pac-12 and Circa or Westgate for the weekend.

Book early, and refundable. Visit Las Vegas advises checking rates “as far out as possible,” warns that last-minute deals “are less likely during tournaments” and says Saturday check-ins are usually more expensive. A free-cancellation rate lets you lock a room now, recheck the price as March nears and rebook if the same room drops before the deadline.

Don’t wait for the bracket. Fans hoping their team reaches the T-Mobile Arena regional won’t know until March 14, so hold a refundable room for March 25–29 now.

Go quiet on purpose. The Opening Round on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 16–17, is the soft entry point: Visit Las Vegas calls the First Four days among the least crowded, and women’s games draw smaller crowds on days that don’t overlap the men’s.

Compare with other weeks. March’s monthly averages look moderate: in 2025 only July, August and June had lower average room rates, per the LVCVA, and occupancy averaged 82.9%. Averages hide the tournament nights, so if the basketball is optional, price the March nights outside conference week and the opening weekend; our guide to the cheapest time to visit Las Vegas shows the full pattern.

Count the whole bill. Add the resort fee and parking to every quote; among the hotels above that publish a fee, they run from $39.95 plus tax at The D to $54.95 plus tax at Caesars Palace (as of October 2026). Our Las Vegas resort fees guide lists every hotel’s charge with tax.

Looking ahead: the 2028 Final Four in Las Vegas

Las Vegas hosts the men’s Final Four on April 1 and 3, 2028, at Allegiant Stadium, with UNLV as host, per NCAA.com. The Pac-12 tournaments return to MGM Grand Garden Arena that March, too. If you’re planning ahead, our guide to hotels near Allegiant Stadium covers the stadium-side resorts.

FAQ

When is March Madness 2027?

Selection Sunday is March 14, 2027. The men’s Opening Round is March 16–17, the first round March 18–19 and the second round March 20–21, and the Final Four is April 3 and 5 at Ford Field in Detroit. The women’s first and second rounds run March 19–22, and the women’s Final Four is April 2 and 4 in Columbus, Ohio.

Are any 2027 NCAA tournament games in Las Vegas?

Yes, on the women’s side only. T-Mobile Arena hosts one of the two women’s regionals, the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, March 26–29, 2027. No men’s game is in Las Vegas in 2027; the eight first- and second-round sites include Sacramento and Spokane. The men’s Final Four comes to Allegiant Stadium on April 1 and 3, 2028.

Which conference tournaments are in Las Vegas in 2027?

Five: the Big Ten women at T-Mobile Arena (March 3–7), the WCC at Orleans Arena (March 5–9), the Mountain West at the Thomas & Mack Center (March 7–13), the Pac-12 at MGM Grand Garden Arena (March 9–13) and the Big West at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson (March 10–13). The former WAC, now the United Athletic Conference, moved to Allen, Texas.

What is the best place to watch March Madness in Vegas?

Circa, if your group is all 21 or older: its three-story sportsbook faces a 78-million-pixel screen, and in 2026 it sold recliners, booths and suites as tournament packages. Westgate is the smoke-free option, with Hoops Central in its International Theater at a resort that takes guests under 21, and Caesars Palace is the pick on the Strip, with a 143-foot LED wall.

Do you need a reservation to watch March Madness at a sportsbook?

Not for a general seat. Visit Las Vegas says sportsbook seating is typically free and first come, first served, though some seats may be held for active bettors at peak games. Reserved seats cost extra: Westgate’s start at $200 per viewing slot, and Caesars Palace sells premium seats with a food-and-drink minimum. Circa sold its 2026 seating as tournament packages.

Where should I stay in Vegas for March Madness?

Match the hotel to the week. For conference tournaments, stay at the arena: MGM Grand for the Pac-12, The Orleans for the WCC, Virgin Hotels for the Mountain West and Green Valley Ranch for the Big West. For the NCAA opening weekend, March 18–21, stay at a sportsbook hotel such as Circa, Westgate or Caesars Palace. Book a refundable rate either way.

If the tournament is one part of a longer trip, our guide to where to stay in Las Vegas compares the areas these hotels sit in.