Kentucky to house visiting teams in dorms for NCAA regional due to hotel room shortage

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Visiting baseball teams in the NCAA Tournament's Lexington Regional will stay in dormitories on the Kentucky campus because of a shortage of hotel rooms in the area.

Kentucky is the No. 12 seed for the 64-team tournament, earning the right to host Ball State, Indiana and West Virginia for double-elimination play Friday through Monday.

Teams traveling for NCAA championships typically are lodged in hotels near the arena or stadium where they will be competing. Several previously scheduled events created a room shortage.

Ball State, Indiana and West Virginia spokesmen said their teams and staff would stay in the dorms.

The NCAA said in a statement that the Division I Baseball Committee was aware of the room shortage when it selected Lexington as a host. Because Kentucky couldn't secure the required number of hotel rooms within 30 miles of the venue, the school offered three on-campus residence buildings near the stadium.

“While the locations are residence halls, it was the understanding of the committee that the accommodations are an apartment-style residence facility, which would be exclusively occupied by the competing team with expansive dining options,” the NCAA said. “Kentucky also stated to the committee that each building will be staffed 24 hours a day by university personnel to provide any services needed.”

Kentucky was able to find hotel rooms at three locations in Louisville, about 65 miles away, if any team had preferred to stay there.