Lakefront Arena
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The Senator Nat G. Kiefer University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena (commonly Lakefront Arena or UNO Lakefront Arena) is an 8,933-seat multi-purpose
arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
located in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. The arena is home to the University of New Orleans
Privateers A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
men's and women's basketball teams. It was built in 1983 and renamed in 1986 in honor of
Nat G. Kiefer Ignatz Gerard Kiefer, known as Nat G. Kiefer (February 26, 1939 – July 10, 1985) was an Lawyer, attorney from his native New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature. He was a ...
, the late state senator who aided UNO's efforts to obtain state funding for the building. Kiefer's state senate district included the UNO campus. It is part of the university's East Campus; the arena is southwest of Maestri Field, home to the UNO baseball team.


Sports


Basketball

Lakefront Arena is the home venue for both the New Orleans Privateers men's and women's basketball teams. The arena opened November 26, 1983, when UNO hosted in-state rival
LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
in a basketball doubleheader. The arena hosted the 1991 NCAA Women's basketball Final Four, where the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
beat the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
for their third national title. The arena was contracted to host the men's and women's
Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...
basketball tournaments between 2014 and 2019. The arena previously hosted the 2002 men's
Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...
basketball tournament. The arena is also notable for hosting
Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...
's career-high of 60 points on March 12, 1985, against the
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...
, who were hosting a series of special "home" games in New Orleans during the 1984–1985 season. The Harlem Globetrotters have also played at the arena.


Boxing

On July 14, 2018, a full card was held at the arena with a co-main event of Regis Prograis versus Juan Jose Velasco for the WBC Super Lightweight Diamond Belt and William Silva versus Teófimo López for the WBC Continental Americas title.


MMA

UFC 27 was held at the arena in September 2000.


Roller derby

Lakefront Arena plays host to flat-track roller derby games held by the Big Easy Rollergirls, a member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, and the New Orleans Brass Roller Derby, a member league of the Men's Roller Derby Association. These games include the Big Easy Rollergirls' annual "SweatFest" invitational tournament, which features competition among high-ranking WFTDA leagues.


Swimming and diving

The UNO Aquatic Center is located in the arena and on the arena grounds. It has been home to the UNO men's and women's swimming and diving teams. The aquatic center has also hosted many national and state events including
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...
Swimming meets, AAU National Championships and Junior Olympics, LHSAA State meets, Syncro National competition, and hosted the 2010 Short Course and Long Course state meets.


Volleyball

From 2008 to 2011, the arena, along with the Human Performance Center, were the home venues for the New Orleans Privateers volleyball team.


Wrestling

The arena hosted LHSAA state wrestling tournaments in 1996 and 1998.


Professional wrestling

On October 23, 1993,
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
held its
Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event currently produced by WWE. Since 2020, it has been held annually for the company's WWE brand extension, developmental brand, NXT (WWE ...
pay-per-view at Lakefront Arena.
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
wrestling's Supercard of Honor XII was hosted at Lakefront Arena on April 7, 2018, during WrestleMania 34 weekend. The arena also hosted several house shows during the 1980s.
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
hosted its flagship TV show,
Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...
, at the arena on 13 April 2022 which included hometown star
Ricky Starks Richard Starks (born February 21, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Ricky Saints. Starks is known for his time in All El ...
, and Samoa Joe winning his first ROH World Television Championship from Minoru Suzuki.


Events

The arena also hosts graduations and concerts, such as
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AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
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Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
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, Eric Church, Exodus, for KING & COUNTRY, Great White,
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and Zac Brown Band. Sting performed during his Symphonicities Tour on June 26, 2010, along with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...
. During their ''Walking Into Everywhere'' tour,
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and
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performed on October 1, 1998, and the show was recorded for later broadcast by Westwood One. During a
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concert at the arena on October 8, 1993, lead singer Dave Gahan suffered a heart attack brought on by drug use, and was escorted out in an ambulance. Events held at the arena have included Disney on Ice, Sesame Street Live, Shrine Circus, '' So You Think You Can Dance'': The Tour, WWE and Fox's singer search program
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
. Comedians such as
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,
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, Katt Williams, and
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have performed at the venue.
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
celebrated mass to over 150,000 people on the grounds of the arena and prominent political figures such as
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
and
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have also spoken at the arena. Large festivals, including Lollapalooza and Steel Pony Express have also been held on the grounds.


Hurricane Katrina

In August 2005, as a result of massive damages sustained during Hurricane Katrina, the building closed for substantial repairs and renovations for nearly three years. During this time, the school's men's and women's basketball teams played their home games in their former home, the Human Performance Center (or "The Chamber of Horrors" as it grew to be known during the late '70s and early '80s). The arena held its grand re-opening May 2, 2008. Disney's ''High School Musical: The Ice Tour'' was the first show to perform.


Gallery

New Orleans Lakefront Arena Assistance Center (7937746324, Cropped).jpg, UNO Lakefront Arena, Interior UNO Arena Aug 2009.JPG, UNO Lakefront Arena, August 2009 Maestri Field at Privateer Park and UNO Lakefront Arena.jpg, UNO Lakefront Arena with Maestri Field at Privateer Park in foreground UNOLakeArenaPostKatrina.jpg, UNO Lakefront Arena, Post Hurricane Katrina


See also

*List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas *List of music venues


References

{{Authority control 1983 establishments in Louisiana Basketball venues in New Orleans Boxing venues in New Orleans College basketball venues in Louisiana College volleyball venues in the United States Former NBA venues Mixed martial arts venues in Louisiana Music venues in Louisiana New Orleans Privateers basketball New Orleans Privateers women's volleyball Sports venues completed in 1983 Swimming venues in New Orleans Volleyball venues in New Orleans Wrestling venues in New Orleans