SEC eying Tampa, St. Louis, Atlanta for hoops tournament

The St. Pete Times Forum hosted the SEC Basketball Tournament in 2009.

DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference is negotiating with St. Louis, Tampa, Fla., and Atlanta to host future men's basketball tournaments.

Commissioner Mike Slive said Thursday the league is in talks with those cities to fill upcoming vacancies in the rotation. The SEC wants to narrow its locations down to a primary spot. Nashville, Tenn., is hosting the event in 2015, 2016 and 2019.

St. Louis (2017), Tampa (2018) and Atlanta (2020) are expected to fill the holes.

The league is looking for a primary site after having success with permanent models in Atlanta (football) and Hoover, Ala. (baseball).

Slive says, "People get comfortable. They know when it is, they know where it is, they know where they're gonna stay, they know where they're gonna eat, they know where the seats are."