Ten days, two brackets, one arena
The Coastal Athletic Association brings both 2027 basketball championships to CareFirst Arena for ten consecutive days. The men's tournament runs Friday, March 5 through Tuesday, March 9. The women's tournament runs Wednesday, March 10 through Sunday, March 14. Each champion takes an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
A corporate travel manager building client entertainment around the men's bracket needs the last two round days. The 2026 edition placed the semifinals on the Monday and the final on the Tuesday, and the 2027 dates keep that shape. The conference publishes no 2027 session clock, so confirm tip times before the invitations go out.
Two days that carry the program
The men's bracket fills five days and plays 12 games from a 13-team field: one first-round game, four second-round games, four quarterfinals, two semifinals and the final. The semifinals fall on Monday, March 8 and the final on Tuesday, March 9.
A Monday-to-Wednesday stay covers both sessions. Two nights at a Green Line hotel put the group three minutes from the Congress Heights platform, which is the arena's own walk estimate.
Buy the tickets from the box office or Ticketmaster
CareFirst Arena publishes its authorized points of purchase: the arena box office in person, Ticketmaster.com, a Ticketmaster outlet, or Ticketmaster by phone. The arena notice names the box office, Ticketmaster and event promoters as the only authorized sales agents, and Ticketmaster verified sites as the only authorized resale service. Tickets from another seller may fail the barcode scan at the door, and the box office confiscates invalid tickets after a failed scan.
Two cost lines sit on top of face value. A facility fee is charged to each ticket and varies by event. Ticketmaster adds a facility fee, a convenience charge and a shipping charge to phone and internet orders. The arena states that buying in person at the box office is the route that avoids the Ticketmaster charges. The concourse holds no ticket printing devices, so guests need their tickets on a phone or printed before arrival.
Tickets carry a no-refund, no-exchange policy. Every seat on a client list is a committed cost.
Tell guests about the bag rule before they leave the office
CareFirst Arena admits wallet-size clutches no larger than 5 by 7 inches, and medical or parenting bags no larger than 14 by 14 by 6 inches. Backpacks, purses, luggage and camera bags stay outside. The arena runs no bag checks and offers no bag storage to the public.
Re-entry is closed during events. A guest who leaves to store a bag in a vehicle loses the rest of that session. Put the bag rule in the invitation. The camera policy follows the same line: lenses under 6 inches, no flash, no tripods or selfie sticks, no video recording.
Alcohol service runs to two drinks per person per transaction and stops 60 minutes before the end of the event. That sets the shape of the pre-game and halftime spend.
Getting a group to Congress Heights
CareFirst Arena sits at 1100 Oak Drive SE in Congress Heights, directly beside the Congress Heights station on the Metro Green Line and three minutes on foot from the platform. The arena routes riders through the Kiss & Ride lot, along the Blue Lot and right onto Oak Drive SE. Rideshare pick-up and drop-off use a designated area near the arena box office on Oak Drive.
On-site parking is limited. The Green Lot at Malcolm X Avenue and 8th Street SE charges $20 per car on event days, and the garage behind the arena is reached from Cypress Avenue. Pre-paid parking is available for select events through Parkwhiz. Drivers arrive from I-295, I-395 and the Capital Beltway.
Door times vary by event, so confirm the opening time on the event page.
The block: ten rooms for two nights
bookMyTeam's glossary defines a group rate as a discounted rate negotiated for a block of 10 or more rooms. Ten rooms on both the Monday and the Tuesday is 20 room nights on one contract, one rooming list and one invoice.
Washington adds 15.95 per cent transient accommodations tax to the room charge, a rate the DC Office of Tax and Revenue extends through September 30, 2027. At a $250 group rate, 20 room nights run $5,000.00 before tax, $797.50 in tax and $5,797.50 in total, or $289.88 per room-night. Run the room line through the group rate calculator before the request goes out.
The RFP form sends one request to 50 or more hotels in the destination. Hotels answer inside 24 to 72 hours. Offers arrive side by side, and the group pays the hotel directly at the bid rate with no commission added.
What to put in the request
Name the two nights, March 8 and March 9, with the room count for each night listed separately. Ask each property for breakfast timing against an evening tip-off, for the parking charge per car, for the walk time to the nearest Green Line station, and for the attrition and cancellation terms.
Send the request early enough to compare offers side by side and to hold the dates.
