Dave Herrell from Visit Quad Cities says Hoops in the Heartland is a big boost for the Quad Cities area.
"If you look at the direct economic impact for the Missouri Valley women's tournament this year, we're projecting about a $1.9 million economic impact for this event."
Herrell and his team are eager to welcome three new members of the conference.
"What's interesting about this year is we've got some new schools, you know, Belmont University that's in Nashville. We've got University of Illinois, Chicago. We've got Murray State, which has a rich basketball tradition."
And for the first time, the Missouri Valley Conference will host its women's basketball awards banquet in the Quad Cities. On Wednesday night, conference officials will present many awards at the Rhythm City Casino in Davenport.
Games begin Thursday at the Mark, and the Hoops in the Heartland championship game is set for Sunday afternoon.
Illinois State is the No. 1 seed followed by Belmont, then Northern Iowa, and Drake. Those teams won't play in the tournament until Friday.
