New Orleans Arena

Lore & Background

The arena was completed in 1999 at a cost of $114 million and officially opened on October 19, 1999. The arena seats 17,805 for concerts, 16,867 for Pelicans games, 18,500 for college basketball and Pelicans playoff games, and 16,900 for ice hockey and arena football. It has 2,800 club seats and 56 luxury suites. The arena as a concert venue can seat 7,500 for half-stage shows, 17,221 for end-stage shows and 17,805 for a center-stage shows.

For trade shows and conventions the arena features 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) of space. The ceiling is 65 feet (20 m) to beam and roof, 70 feet (21.5 m) to the top of the arena. In 1999, the arena's first tenant, the New Orleans Brass ice hockey team of the ECHL played their first home game in the arena. The team played their final three seasons in the arena.

When the New Orleans Hornets arrived in 2002, they persuaded the state government to demand that the Brass foot the cost of converting the arena between basketball and hockey configurations. That expense was more than the Brass were willing to pay, and they were forced to fold due to the lack of another suitable arena. The Hornets played their first game at the Smoothie King Center versus the Utah Jazz on October 30, 2002. The Jazz had called New Orleans home from 1974 to 1979.

The New Orleans VooDoo, of the Arena Football League (AFL), began playing their home games in the arena in February 2004. Following Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, medical operations that had previously been housed in the Superdome were moved to the Arena. Medical personnel had been working in an area of the Superdome with poor lighting, leaking ceilings, and soggy carpet. The Arena's design was tested in 1996 by CPP, a wind engineering consulting firm, so it fared far better than the Superdome during the storm and was in better condition to house sensitive medical operations.

Thus, unlike the Superdome, the Arena reopened to activities only one month after the storm. On March 8, 2006, the Hornets played their first home game at the arena since Hurricane Katrina and the start of the 2005–06 season. A sellout crowd of 17,744 watched the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Hornets, 113–107. In 2006, the arena installed an LED centerhung video and scoring system from Daktronics. The centerhung installation is made up of two ring displays and eight video displays, as well as scoreboards.

Reader's Guide

The arena has hosted numerous notable events. In sports, it hosted the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, the 2014 NBA All-Star Game, and the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. In college sports, it hosted the Southeast Regional of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2011, the first and second rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in 2007 and 2010, the 2012 Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament, the 2004 Women's Final Four and 2013 Women's Final Four, the 2008 NCAA women's basketball tournament South Regionals, the 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Final Four, and the 2019 and 2024 SEC gymnastics championships.

The arena hosted ArenaBowl XXI in 2007, ArenaBowl XXII in 2008 and ArenaBowl XXV in 2012. In MMA and boxing, it hosted the light heavyweight title fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Eric Harding on September 9, 2000, UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson on June 6, 2015, and UFC 318: Holloway vs. Poirier 3 on July 19, 2025. Other events include Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Bud Light Cup tour events in 2000, 2001, and 2002, a PBR Built Ford Tough Series event in 2003, the Bassmaster Classic XXXIII weigh-in in August 2003, a PBR Built Ford Tough Series event in March 2007, a PBR Built Ford Tough Series event in April 2010, AMSOIL Arenacross in March 2015, and Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live in November 2019 and February 2022.

The arena has hosted numerous WWE events, including Royal Rumble in 2001, Extreme Rules in 2009, Hell in a Cell in 2011, Elimination Chamber in 2013, and will host Money in the Bank in 2026. It was also the venue for the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the following episode of Raw, as part of WrestleMania XXX weekend. In 2018, the arena hosted NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and the subsequent episodes of Raw and SmackDown during WrestleMania 34 weekend.