Imagine going to a future New Orleans Pelicans game and beforehand, taking in an outdoor concert at a tree-lined, open-air plaza outside the Smoothie King Center, then crossing the street to grab a pregame drink in the arena’s club lounge with a view of downtown New Orleans on an open-air Garden District-style rooftop veranda.
That’s the vision Pelicans officials have pitched to key decision-makers across the city and state as they try to garner support for a major makeover of their home arena and its surrounding campus.
032226 Smoothie King Arena
The project would be the most extensive renovation of the Smoothie King Center since it opened in 1999, something officials say is needed to bring the building up to modern NBA standards. It would feature the addition of 2,155 lower-level seats, upgraded concourses, new social spaces and a redesign of the surrounding campus that includes two parking lots adjacent to the arena along Le Rouge Street, Champions Square, the old New Orleans Center and Macy’s parking garage.
The master plan was commissioned by the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, which oversees the arena's operations for the state, and was completed in July by the architectural firms Gensler and Eskew Dumez and Ripple. The Times-Picayune obtained a copy of the master plan through a public records request.
Officials stressed that the architectural renderings presented in the plan are conceptual studies that have not been approved by the state, LSED or Pelicans and “are preliminary at best,” said Larry Roedel, the longtime legal counsel for the LSED.
“The Master Plan is a conceptual look at different options for improvements to the Smoothie King Center, with a renovation being contingent on a lease extension with the Pelicans,” said Rob Vosbein, the chairman of the LSED, in a statement. “The LSED is currently working with the Pelicans on a design and plan for renovating the Smoothie King Center. However, no design concepts or funding mechanisms for the renovation outlined in the Master Plan have been finalized or approved by the LSED.”
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A master plan commissioned by the Louisiana and Stadium Exposition District through architectural firms Gensler and Eskew Dumez and Ripple includes images of proposed upgrades to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The project includes the addition of 2,155 lower-level seats, upgraded concourses, new social spaces and a redesign of the surrounding campus. Gensler and Eskew Dumez and Ripple
Still, the proposal is the clearest sign yet that officials are pushing to get the project off the ground and are working toward the key funding negotiations and approvals to make it happen.
A contingent of team and state officials, led by Pelicans owner Gayle Benson and Gov. Jeff Landry, presented the plan to NBA commissioner Adam Silver during a meeting in New York in January. Team officials also showed it to Mayor Helena Moreno last month.
Cost estimates were not included in the report. The state and Pelicans are expected to pay for the project through a public-private partnership similar to the one used to fund the recent $560 million renovation of the Superdome.
The master plan submitted by architectural firms Gensler and Eskew Dumez and Ripple shows potential major upgrades for the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
The project would be the linchpin for a long-term lease extension between the team and state at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans’ lease at Smoothie King Center expires in June 2029. The franchise is in the midst of its 24th season in the arena.
The lease agreement and use of public funds would require legislative approval. State and team officials have begun initial discussions on a long-term lease agreement, led by Landry, Vosbein, Benson and Pelicans president Dennis Lauscha. The NBA is expected to award New Orleans a future NBA All-Star Game when the sides reach an agreement on a new long-term lease.
“As Mrs. Benson said when she signed the lease extension for the Saints with Governor Landry, that it would now be time to turn our focus to a lease extension with the Pelicans and the start to developing a plan at upgrading the Smoothie King Center,” said Greg Bensel, the Pelicans senior vice president of communications/broadcasting/community and government relations. “This is just the first step. Our organization has already had very positive communications with state officials.”
The plan presented two different “schemes” for the arena renovation but did not provide a timeline for the start or completion of either project, which, if approved, would be conducted in two separate offseason phases, allowing the Pelicans to continue to play games in the arena.
One of the biggest issues with Smoothie King Center is its lack of lower bowl seating, a prime revenue source for the Pelicans. The building has the fewest lower bowl seats of any NBA arena, Doug Thornton, the former vice president of stadiums for ASM Global, previously told The Times-Picayune.
The makeover would upgrade and expand the seating in the lower bowl by 2,155 seats, while reducing the number of seats in the upper bowl, which are traditionally harder to sell. The overall seating capacity for basketball would increase from 18,310 to 19,963.
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A master plan commissioned by the Louisiana and Stadium Exposition District through architectural firms Gensler and Eskew Dumez and Ripple includes images of proposed upgrades to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The project includes the addition of 2,155 lower-level seats, upgraded concourses, new social spaces and a redesign of the surrounding campus. Gensler and Eskew Dumez and Ripple
The project would also include premium hospitality features like VIP club lounges, luxury suites, a party deck and grab-and-go concession markets at various levels of the arena.
Among the proposed upgrades:
A redesigned lobby and entrance to the arena on the north side of the arena, at the corner of Dave Dixon Drive and Le Rouge Street. This makeover represents the biggest difference in the two schemes, with Scheme 2 of the master plan, featuring a grand atrium entrance and a built-out Garden District-themed rooftop terrace on the upper concourse level along the northeast side of the building.
A reimagined campus outside the arena, featuring a VIP parking lot, stair tower for the old Macy’s parking garage and Italian piazza-style community space for pre- and postgame events and concerts.
Multiple new premium-seat experiences including sideline clubs, loge and bunker suites, an upper-level party deck, grab-and-go concession markets and themed VIP lounges. Among the proposed new club lounges would be the Colony Club in the upper concourse level with a view of downtown New Orleans.
A “refresh” of the existing luxury suites with high-end furnishings like island bars, crushed velour furniture, brass light fixtures and wood floors.
“The upgrades noted as options in this July 2025 study would require a substantial investment by the Pelicans and an extension of their current lease, which are subjects yet to be negotiated,” Roedel said.
A 2024 feasibility study of the arena said the building's sound and public address system — installed in 1999 — needs to be replaced; it said the video board hung above center court in 2016 should be upgraded within the next two years; and the three walk-in freezers, which were part of the building's original construction, have reached the end of their usable life.
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The map shows the location of a proposed new open-air plaza outside and a new entry to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Gensler and Eskew Dumez and Ripple
The arena, which was originally built for $199 million, underwent a state-funded $54 million renovation in 2014, which featured new VIP clubs, loge suites, team store and ticket office, along with the installation of a new LED lighting system and glass-enclosed front entrance lobby. In the decade since, destination areas such as the Courtside Club, player locker rooms and exterior LED boards have been upgraded. But much of the building's original infrastructure has not been improved and is in need of work, the report found.
Officials have estimated that a new arena to house the Pelicans could cost anywhere between $800 million and $1 billion. A major renovation of the Smoothie King Center would likely cost a fraction of that.
The Oregon legislature recently approved $365 million to modernize the 30-year-old Moda Center for the Trail Blazers in Portland.
The Charlotte Hornets completed a two-phase, $275 million renovation of the Spectrum Center in Charlotte last year that added 1,400 lower-bowl seats, upgraded concourses and new social spaces.
Footprint Center, the home of the Phoenix Suns, completed a $240 million renovation in 2021.
“Every NBA team, regardless of location and market size, needs a model, state-of-the-art arena to compete in the league,” Silver told The Times-Picayune in 2023.