Smoothie King Center
Locals call it The Blender — a $114 million NBA arena that became a field hospital when the Superdome next door couldn't cope after Katrina.
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New Orleans' main arena sits in the Central Business District right against the Caesars Superdome. After Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, medical operations shifted here from the Superdome, where crews had been working under leaking ceilings with poor lighting. That emergency chapter gives the building civic weight beyond basketball.
What to look for
- Two giants on one block: the Superdome and The Blender sit side by side in the Central Business District — compare their scales from street level
- A ceiling that climbs 70 feet to the roof peak, visible once you're inside the main bowl
- 56 luxury suites alongside 2,800 club seats built into the bowl
Capacity shifts by event — 16,867 for Pelicans games, up to 17,805 for a center-stage concert — so check the schedule before heading over.
Smoothie King Center is one of 5 sights worth the detour in New Orleans, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the New Orleans pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in New Orleans
- Tulane UniversityFounded in 1834 to train doctors during yellow fever and cholera outbreaks — the South's second medical school, still standing.
- Caesars SuperdomeEight Super Bowls, one hurricane shelter, and the largest fixed dome on Earth — all in one building.
- St. Louis CathedralThree churches have stood on this spot since 1718 — the second burned to the ground on Good Friday 1788, and the one standing today has been in use for over 230 years.
- Bourbon StreetA French name on a Spanish street — three empires compressed into twelve blocks.