What does the award letter Stevie receives in Chapter 1 give him permission to attend? Where is Stevie going?

Stevie Thomas receives a letter that he is the winner of an essay contest. As the winner, he has the opportunity to cover the Final Four basketball games as a student reporter. Stevie's mother says he has to wait for his father to get home to see if he can take time off of work to accompany Stevie to the games, which are in New Orleans.