The Times Union Center will host an international sports competition next summer. 

For five days in August, downtown Albany will be home to the Aurora Games. The event gives women from around the world the chance to compete in sports like basketball, tennis, hockey, and gymnastics. 

The Aurora Games are expected to bring around 50,000 people to Albany.

 

 

Organizers say it's about more than a boost in tourism. It's about showcasing talented female athletes. Former swimming gold medalist Donna De Varona was only 13 years old when she won in the 1960 Olympics.

Monday, she shared with athletes in the Capital Region that it was women's time to shine.

"It's time for the Aurora Games," De Varona said. "If you look at how women dominated the Olympics, we're under-represented and supported for what we deliever. We deliver all the time." 

That's not the only big sporting event coming to the Times Union Center next year: The MAAC Men and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held there in March of 2019, followed by the return of the first and second rounds of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.