New Orleans Pelicans
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
- Capacity
- 16,867
- Roof
- Indoor
- Surface
- Hardwood (Maple)
- Opened
- 1999
- Tickets
- $12+
- Parking
- $15+
- Beer
- $10+
- Food
- $6.5+
- Est. total
- $43.5+
Against the other 29 NBA arenas, Smoothie King Center is the 5th cheapest game day: 3rd for tickets, joint 13th for parking and joint 4th for food and drink, compared on market ticket medians and published lot and menu prices in US dollars. See the full ranking.
Prices are estimates. See our methodology.
What to Expect
Smoothie King Center sits in the Warehouse District of downtown New Orleans, right next to the Caesars Superdome. The arena is a 20-minute walk from the French Quarter, making it one of the most entertainment-rich locations in the NBA. New Orleans is a food and music city above all else, the pregame experience here is unmatched. Walk Magazine Street for restaurants, hit a jazz club, then stroll to the game. The arena has the smallest capacity in the NBA (16,867), creating an intimate atmosphere. NBA games run about 2.5 hours.
View Seating GuideTips & Fan Reports
Game Day
Every garage is card-only, with no cash option at any of the seven.
Rideshare drops on Poydras between Clara and Loyola, not at the arena itself.
The 14 by 14 by 6 inch limit is roomy by arena standards: a backpack within it is fine here, unlike at most NBA venues.
Parking & Directions
Uber to and from the arena if you are staying in the French Quarter. It is a 50 minute walk and not the best route at night. The concessions inside are overpriced, so sneak in what you need.
A public transportation stop is on Poydras Street opposite Superdome Gate A at ground level.
The transit stop is on Poydras Street, opposite the Superdome at Gate A ground level.
Food & Drinks
Eat at a REAL New Orleans restaurant before the game. Don't waste your appetite on arena food.
If you do eat inside, the gumbo and po'boys are the best arena food in the NBA.
Café Du Monde is 20 minutes by foot. Get beignets before or after the game.
Seating
Section 113 is great. The lower the seat number the closer to center court. I prefer mid-teens for the row number since you get a slightly better viewing angle than the first few rows.
Read the premium spaces by party size: Loge Boxes take four or five, suites twelve to eighteen, The Warehouse thirty-five to fifty, the HUB Club up to 150.
Loge Box tickets carry access to the premium club lounges; the suite description does not mention it, so confirm before assuming a suite includes them.
General
Wait until game day and buy seats an hour or two before tip-off on SeatGeek. We are bad enough that seats are going to be really cheap for the foreseeable future. Save your money for Bourbon Street.
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
Backpacks are prohibited, and other bags, purses, or briefcases cannot exceed 14 x 14 x 6 inches.
All guests and bags are subject to security screening. Event-specific management may change the policy, so check the game listing before traveling.
- Gate opening
General doors open one hour before Pelicans tipoff; qualifying premium season-ticket holders may enter 90 minutes before tipoff.
Premium early entry includes club, suite, and floor-level patrons. The team recommends arriving early enough to clear screening before tipoff.
- Venue payments
Smoothie King Center is cashless for concessions, merchandise, and parking and accepts credit or debit cards.
Cash may be converted to a prepaid Mastercard across from Sections 108 and 310. Cards are not reloadable, and unused balances incur a monthly fee after 90 days.
- Re-entry
Re-entry is not permitted after leaving Smoothie King Center.
Guides for Smoothie King Center
- Game Day Guide
7 steps from arrival to tip-off, and 21 venue rules checked against official sources. 3 bars, patios and plazas to fill the hours before doors, and what to bring.
- Parking & Directions
2 lots and garages with distances and entry routes, from $15. Or leave the car: the cheapest way in is RTA Streetcar (St. Charles / Rampart-St. Claude), $1.25.
- Food & Drinks
26 concession stands and 33 items researched from the venue's own menus, cheapest food $6.5 and drink $5.
- Seating Guide
9 seating areas at Smoothie King Center, with the level names printed on the ticket.
- Cost Calculator
Build a total for your own party using Smoothie King Center's stored figures.
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Venue facts
Wikipedia / Official Venue Page
- Food prices
Smoothie King Center 2026: hot dogs $6.50, beer at 75 cents per ounce
- Venue policies
Current New Orleans Pelicans and Smoothie King Center fan, accessibility, parking, and dining guidance reviewed for Pelicans policies.
Not yet checked against a published source
These figures are estimates. Most venues no longer publish the numbers behind them (concession and ticket pricing moved to dynamic marketplaces), so we hold them as estimates rather than dating them as verified.
- Ticket prices: Secondary market averages (SeatGeek/StubHub)
- Parking prices: Never checked against a published rate: the venue's parking page, read 2026-09-05, publishes none. The page gives directions and no rate. The 2026-07-27 figures were compiled from third-party listings (was: "Smoothie King Center 2026: on-site surface lots and garages $10-$35; event rates begin at $20 for the Champions Garage and typically run higher for Pelicans games").
- Drink prices: Team Marketing Report Fan Cost Index + venue research