New Orleans Arena

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New Orleans Arena
Location	1501 Girod Street New Orleans, LA 70113
Broke ground	February 1998
Opened	October 19, 1999
Owner	The State of Louisiana
Construction cost	$84 million USD
Tenants	New Orleans Hornets (NBA) (2002-2005, 2007-present) New Orleans VooDoo (AFL) (2004-2005, 2007-present) New Orleans Brass (ECHL) (1999-2002)
Capacity	Concerts: 19,000+ New Orleans Hornets: 17,188+ Arena Football: 16,500+

The New Orleans Arena is an indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to the Louisiana Superdome.

It has been home to the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA since 2002, and is also home to some Tulane University basketball games as well as some high school basketball games and other special events. The now-defunct New Orleans Brass of the ECHL played in the New Orleans Arena their last three seasons before their demise in 2002. Since February 2004, the New Orleans VooDoo, of the Arena Football League (AFL), has played their home games in the arena.

The arena was completed in 1999 at a cost of $84 million and officially opened on October 19, 1999. The Brass was the main tenant for its first three years until the team was forced to fold after Hornets management demanded priority upon moving. The arena seats 19,000 for concerts (over 18,500 for Hornets games^[1] and 16,500 for arena football and has 56 luxury suites.

The Arena is also used as a venue for music concerts where it can seat from 7,500 for a half-stage setup to 17,221 for end-stage shows and at the most 17,805 for a center-stage show. 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.

It hosted ArenaBowl XXI in 2007, the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, ArenaBowl XXII in July 2008, the 2012 Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament, and has hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in 2007, and will do so again in 2010. The Arena has also hosted the 2004 Women's Final Four and will host the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament South Regionals.

On March 11, 2008 the arena hosted 311 Day 2008. This bi-annual event held in New Orleans is a live concert and fan gathering celebrating the music and unity of rock reggae band 311. 14,000+ fans attended from all 50 states and 12 different countries (USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Spain, England, Dominican Republic, Bahrian and Djibouti, Africa.) The band played 63 songs, and 22 different songs from the last 3-11 Day. In years past 311 Day has been held at the UNO Lakefront Arena and more recently in 2006 at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee (due to Hurricane Katrina)

[edit] Hurricane Katrina

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.

[edit] Post Katrina revival

The Hornets played their first game since the 2005-06 season in the Arena on March 8, 2006 to a sellout crowd of 17,744 as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Hornets, 113-107.

On 5 July, 2006, the New Orleans Arena accommodated its largest crowd ever for any event during a concert, with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill performing.

In August 2007, The Summer Tour Screamfest '07 came for a concert. It was headlined by R&B Star Ciara and Rap Superstar T.I..

In February 2008, the arena hosted the 2008 NBA All-Star Game.^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

New Orleans Arena

• Official New Orleans Arena website

Coordinates: 29°56′56.22″N, 90°4′55.84″W