The Pelicans’ ownership has three years left on a lease.
The owner of the National Basketball Association’s New Orleans Pelicans franchise, Gayle Benson, has a lease with the state of Louisiana, the owner of the New Orleans arena, to use the facility that ends in 2029. If Louisiana wants to keep the NBA team in town, there is a lot of work that needs to be done to get the building up to modern day standards. Is there an appetite from the state to spend money on renovating the city’s present arena or build a new one? The arena game has just started in New Orleans. The problem with the arena? It is an almost 27 years old and is considered antiquated. The venue has problems with the number of lower bowl seats and the actual size of the building. Pelicans ownership is looking for public money to help pay for the renovations. Benson will also put up some money. There is a long tradition in New Orleans of the state of Louisiana throwing hundreds of millions of dollars into renovating the city’s sports venues.
The arena survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in good condition. There was a renovation of the building in 2014. Through various incarnations of the leases between the owners of the Hornets-Pelicans franchise, there have been times when Louisiana has paid the owner of the franchise money to stay in town. A state of Louisiana assessment of the building pointed out high and medium priority items that need attention. The problems identified in a report concluded the venue needs new seating, upgraded lighting, a modern center-hung scoreboard, new video screens, and upgraded concession stands. Pelicans ownership operates in a very small market with a very limited corporate support in a tiny TV market. The clock is ticking with the Pelicans ownership’s lease agreement up soon in New Orleans.
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