Champions Square is an outdoor festival plaza located adjacent to
Caesars Superdome
The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
. It is known as the premier tailgating space for sports events held at the stadium and the nearby
Smoothie King Center
Smoothie King Center (locally referred to as SKC) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, New Orleans, Central Business District, adjacent to Caesar ...
.
The plaza also consists of an outdoor amphitheater, known as Bold Sphere Music (often referred to as "Blue Sphere Stage"). The venue was reopened April 25, 2014, with a concert by
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, Glamour (presentation), glamour, and melan ...
.
The amphitheater has seating for up to 9,000 spectators for special events, 7,000 in a general admission setting and 4,500 for reseated seating.
History
The site was originally the location of the
Girod Street Cemetery The Girod Street Cemetery (also known as the Protestant Cemetery) was a large above-ground cemetery that resided in central New Orleans, Louisiana, established in 1822 for Protestant residents of the Faubourg St. Mary and was closed down in the 19 ...
from 1822 to 1957. The cemetery was moved prior to the construction of the Superdome, and subsequently the New Orleans Centre
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
was erected on the site. In 2005, the shopping mall closed due to Hurricane Katrina. The shopping mall never re-opened, and was almost entirely demolished in the Spring of 2010 to begin construction of Champions Square. The former Macy's department store area and the parking garage, now called "Champions Garage", are the only remnants of the original shopping mall.
Features
The 121,000 square-foot plaza is centered on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Smoothie King Center, Hyatt Regency, Benson Tower, and numerous parking garages and food courts. Phase I included the construction of the plaza and staircase leading from the Superdome. Construction initially began in the Spring of 2010 and Champions Square formally opened August 21, 2010.
Phase II further improved the square following the 2010-2011 NFL season with the installation of a new permanent grand staircase with amphitheater seating, permanent restroom facilities, stone pavement, LED lighting, palm trees, and a vine wall spanning the length of the plaza alongside the Superdome.
Before each NFL football game, the square hosts concerts which are free and open to the public. The square is only open to pedestrian traffic. Inside the square, there are numerous food and beverage options either in the food court or outside under tents.
Champions Square has become the site for the annual "Gleason Gras", whose purpose is to raise awareness and funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Future expansion
In 2013 construction was completed on a four level balcony added to the southern side Benson Tower overlooking the square. The addition also houses a secondary studio for the Benson-owned
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
station
WVUE-DT
WVUE-DT (channel 8) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains primary studios on Norman C. Francis Parkway in the city's Gert Town sectio ...
(Channel 8), which airs their morning newscasts, Saints and sports-related programming from that facility.
''
The Times-Picayune
''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...
'' reported on August 15, 2010, that Phase III would include building out the façade and adding a permanent food court, and would be completed sometime after New Orleans hosted Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. Beyond that, planners have envisioned the area will be successful enough to build a residential tower sprouting out of the top of the former Macy's department store space.
See also
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Patriot Place
Patriot Place is an open-air shopping center owned by The Kraft Group built around Gillette Stadium, the home of the New England Patriots and New England Revolution. It is located in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The first phase opened in fall 2007 ...