NEW ORLEANS — Is the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans showing its age?
“If you look at it today, the Smoothie King Center is not keeping pace with the modern NBA facilities,” said Doug Thornton ASM Global VP.
That’s the company that manages the arena and the Caesars Superdome for the state.
The arena opened its doors in 1999, three years before it landed an NBA franchise.
The building completed a multi-phase renovation in 2014.
It may soon be time for another facelift.
“The question is, what can we do,” Thornton said. “What can New Orleans afford.”
It’s unclear if enough modifications can be made to Smoothie King’s current design to meet modern NBA standards.
It has one of the smallest lower bowls in the league.
A new arena could cost upwards of a billion dollars.
Jake Madison hosts the daily podcast, Locked on Pelicans.
“It’s not like it’s in disrepair,” Madison said. “It’s not like it’s falling down. It’s just not one of those more modern, kind of tech-forward, multi-revenue generating arenas that are out there that the NBA wants their NBA teams to be playing in.”
Madison said when the Pelicans went to Birmingham for a preseason game last year where their minor league team plays, some players and staff found the facilities there a little better than what they have in the Smoothie King Center.
“For an NBA team to say that I think kind of speaks to the state of the Smoothie King, right now.”
Thornton said discussions on what to do with the Smoothie King will likely heat up after the ongoing $500-million renovations to the Superdome are completed next year.
“I will tell you that the Pelicans are extending their lease through 2030. We are going to take a fresh look at that building.”
While the Pels and the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District study the long-term viability of the Smoothie King Center, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told NOLA.com's Christian Clark that every NBA team, regardless of location and market size, needs a state-of-the-art arena to compete in the league.
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