Smoothie King Center to undergo facility assessment

The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED) officials on Thursday approved a plan for Gensler -- the architecture and design firm that assisted with the $500M renovation of the Caesars Superdome -- to “take a thorough look at Smoothie King Center’s infrastructure,” according to Christian Clark of the New Orleans ADVOCATE. The “facility needs assessment” of Smoothie King Center is “slated to begin in mid-March.” That process “will take approximately six weeks.” Smoothie King Center opened its doors in 1999 and underwent a state-funded $54M renovation “before the start of the 2014-15 season.” It has been “a decade since its last major face-lift.” One of the “biggest issues with Smoothie King Center is its lack of lower bowl seating.” It has the “fewest lower bowl seats of any NBA arena.” A new arena to house the Pelicans “could cost anywhere between” $800M and $1B. A major renovation of Smoothie King Center “would cost a fraction of that” (New Orleans ADVOCATE, 3/1).