By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament will stay in Southwest Ohio until at least 2006.

Conference commissioner Linda Bruno officially announced that U.S. Bank Arena will host the 2005 and 2006 tournaments, following a two-year run at University of Dayton Arena that ends in March.

"When the building came forward with a very good bid, it was very easy for us to take that, knowing that attendance at our two member institutions in the area is great during the year," Bruno said Wednesday at a press conference at U.S. Bank Arena. "And we expect that will be reflected when we come to this building."

Atlantic 10 athletic directors voted for U.S. Bank Arena to host the tournament ahead of four other venues that submitted bids. Bruno declined to say which other venues bid, but Dayton officials confirmed they sought a third year at UD Arena.

Xavier University was not officially involved with U.S. Bank Arena's bid, but Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski did help arena officials prepare their submission.

"I think it's a great opportunity for our fans and the Dayton fans and the whole Southwest Ohio corridor here to continue to support this tournament," Bobinski said.

U.S. Bank Arena seats 17,000 and hosted the 2002 Conference USA Tournament, which will be played there again in March.

The Atlantic 10 Tournament had been held in Philadelphia for 14 years but was moved to Dayton in 2003 in an effort to spur attendance. It worked, as Dayton averaged more than 11,000 fans per session last season.

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com