New Orleans Arena

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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.

WWF Royal Rumble 2001 was held there. 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 arena lay largely vacant for its first three years until a major professional sports franchise could be attracted to the city. The arena seats 18,000 for basketball 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 17,805 for center-stage shows. For trade shows and conventions the Arena features 17,000 square feet of space. The ceiling is 65 feet to beam and roof, 70 to the top of the arena.

It will host the 2008 NBA All-Star Game and the 2012 Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament.

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Hurricane Katrina

Following Hurricane Katrina on August 31, 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 fared better than the Superdome during the storm and was in better condition to house sensitive medical operations.

The Hornets played their first game since the 2004-2005 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.

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