New Orleans Arena New Orleans Arena is a multi - purpose indoor arena in New Orleans , Louisiana . It is located in the city ' s Central Business District , adjacent to the Mercedes - Benz Superdome . 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 , caused in part by the arrival of the Hornets . Since February 2004 , the New Orleans VooDoo , of the Arena Football League ( AFL ) , played their home games in the arena until the team folded in 2008 . The VooDoo resumed play at the Arena in March 2011 . The arena was completed in 1999 at a cost of $ 114 million and officially opened on October 19 , 1999 . The Brass was the main tenant for its first three years until the team was forced to fold after Hornets management demanded priority upon moving . The arena seats 19 , 000 for concerts , over 18 , 500 for Hornets games and 16 , 500 for arena football and has 2 , 800 club seats and 56 luxury suites . The Arena is also used as a venue for concerts where it can seat from 7 , 500 for a half - stage setup to 17 , 221 for end - stage shows and at the most 17 , 805 for a center - stage show . For trade shows and conventions the Arena features of space . The ceiling is 65 feet ( 20 m ) to beam and roof , 70 feet ( 21 . 5 m ) to the top of the arena . In 2006 , the arena installed an LED centerhung video and scoring system from Daktronics out of Brookings , South Dakota . The centerhung installation is made up of two ring displays and eight video displays , as well as scoreboards . This installation is fully integrated with the more than 875 feet of ribbon display technology that was installed in the arena in 2002 . It hosted ArenaBowl XXI in 2007 , the 2008 NBA All - Star Game and will host the 2014 NBA All - Star Game , ArenaBowl XXII in July 2008 , the 2012 Southeastern Conference men ' s basketball tournament , and has hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men ' s Basketball Tournament in 2007 and 2010 , and the Southeast Regional of the 2011 NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Tournament . On September 9 , 2000 , the arena hosted the light heavyweight title fight between Roy Jones , Jr . and Eric Harding . Jones won by TKO in the 10th round . The Arena has also hosted the 2004 Women ' s Final Four and hosted the 2008 NCAA Women ' s Basketball Tournament South Regionals . On March 11 , 2008 the arena hosted 311 Day 2008 . This bi - annual event held in New Orleans is a live concert and fan gathering celebrating the music and unity of rock reggae band 311 . 14 , 000 + fans attended from all 50 states and 12 different countries . Hurricane Katrina . Following Hurricane Katrina on August 29 , 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 ' s design was tested in 1996 by CPP , a wind engineering consulting firm , so it fared far better than the Superdome during the storm and was in better condition to house sensitive medical operations . Thus , unlike the Superdome , the Arena reopened to activities only one month after the storm .