News came from NOLA.com yesterday and it came in the midst of gameday so it got lost in the shuffle. Going to paste the article below since it’s locked behind a paywall and NOLA.com is a mess with ads. **The big takeaways and TLDR are:**
– Benson doesn’t have the cash to build a new arena because her net worth is tied up in assets.
– Both the team and arena officials know they need a new arena, but the logistics and the cost is to extreme to come to grips with currently.
– The lease is likely to extend through the 2020s.
– The players thought that the Birmingham Squadron’s arena was nicer than the SKC.
– Arena officials know they need to bring the building up-to-date, but are hesitant to commit to anything that is too costly.
Anyway, here’s the article if you’d like to read for yourself:
The Smoothie King Center turned 23 years old in October. There are no signs that the Pelicans will vacate it for a new arena any time soon. The Pelicans’ lease at the Smoothie King Center expires on June 30, 2024. With roughly 18 months remaining on the deal, every indication from team and state representatives is that the Pelicans will exercise their option on an extension to remain at their downtown arena for most, if not all, of the 2020s.
“Their intention is to extend the lease,” said Doug Thornton, the vice president of stadiums for ASM Global, which oversees lease negotiations with the Pelicans for the state’s Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED). “We’re going to determine what capital improvements need to be made. We’re always putting money into the arena. The question is how much?”
In February, Pelicans president Dennis Lauscha said the Pelicans can extend their lease at Smoothie King Center for up to five years, which would give the team time to figure out a “long-term plan.”
The New Orleans Saints and the state are already sharing the cost of a $450 million renovation of the Caesar’s Superdome, which is expected to be completed in 2025. Gayle Benson, the owner of the Saints and Pelicans, said at the NFL annual meeting in March that she wants the renovation of the Saints’ stadium to be finished before she shifts her attention toward the Pelicans’ arena situation.
The Smoothie King Center opened its doors in 1999 at a price tag of $114 million, which is $204 million in today’s dollars.
Thornton estimated building a new arena for the Pelicans would cost $800 million.
A handful of deep-pocketed NBA owners have financed new arenas themselves over the past few years. The Golden State Warriors paid $1.4 billion to build Chase Center, which opened in 2019. Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO who owns the Los Angeles Clippers, has shelled out $2 billion of his own money to build the Intuit Dome, which is set to open in Inglewood in 2024.
The Bensons bought the Hornets, whom they rebranded the Pelicans, for $338 million in 2012. The team is now valued at $1.6 billion, according to Forbes.
Forbes estimates Benson is worth $4.7 billion. However, most of her net worth is tied up in assets. Compared to the rest of the NBA’s majority owners, Benson is relatively cash-poor.
“At some point, you may want to look to build a new arena,” Thornton said. “I don’t think that’s imminent, though. I don’t think that’s between the next three to five years. They (Pelicans officials) have every indication of extending their lease. They have talked about extending their option for five years, which they have under the lease agreement. During that time, we will maintain an upgrade to the extent we can.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has already made a trip to New Orleans this season. Those who interacted with him came away with the belief that he was pleased with the direction the Pelicans are headed, on and off the court.
In 2013, shortly before he took over for David Stern, Silver said the Bradley Center, the then-home of the Milwaukee Bucks, was unfit for the NBA.
Five years later, the Bucks moved into Fiserv Forum, a new arena that cost $524 million. Taxpayers were on the hook for $250 million of that project. The remaining $274 million was privately financed.
Smoothie King Center was built entirely with state funds.
In October, the Pelicans played a preseason game at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala. Multiple Pelicans players remarked that Legacy Arena seemed nicer than their home arena in New Orleans.
The Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, has called Legacy Arena home for the past two years. The Pelicans relocated their G League affiliate from Erie, Pa., to Birmingham in 2021 on the heels of a $125 million renovation of Legacy Arena, which was financed by a bond sale.
[link to article](https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/pelicans-wont-get-new-arena-any-time-soon-as-team-set-to-extend-stay-at-smoothie-king-center/article_ea7704b6-855a-11ed-9b05-d73aa922e66c.html?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR14vrdnRtciCSUCRrHyEAjaSG8weuApMQvxH5ZMHqEsgnlRLe6NX2mg0qY)
by Nola67
1 Comment
I know many have speculated and even fantasized about building a smaller, one-tier-bowl type of arena next to Mardi Gras World on the River, but the way I see it that would be a waste. The SKC is already in a great location primarily because of the parking infrastructure already present with the Super Dome next door, champions square, and it’s proximity to I-10. Ideally, the best thing would be to construct a completely new arena in the exact spot that the SKC currently lay. I don’t think renovation is an option simply due to the layout and structure of the arena. Looking past it’s out-datedness, the upper bowl simply takes up far too many seats and they go wasted. And if they’re not wasted, it’s just not a great time up there. Views are subpar, seats are meh, lighting is dark, and it’s steep. The only pathway I see forward if you’re to use that location is a demo of the SKC and a rebuild of a new arena.
However, it would probably take *years* for demo and construction and the team would be homeless, which brings another issue. Only thing I could think is for them to play in the Super Dome like the Jazz did in the old days in the interim. And when you think about it, it would make little sense for them to take that route. It would make much more sense to go the MG World area route.
I think there are fans that want the team to breakaway from their Saints identity and moving arena locations would certainly help accomplish that. But something people don’t realize is that the casuals and the locals actually *like* the Pelicans integration with the Saints. My wife, my mom, my brothers all think it’s so cool how the two can be intertwined. Ultimately, it’s about establishing an identity in NOLA. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do so, just trying to point out that being intertwined with the saints so closely does have its pros.