Proposal in BR to build large new Arena to replace both River Center and PMAC

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Replace the PMAC, rethink the River Center: Big changes to Baton Rouge live events proposed

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In a change that could reshape live events in Baton Rouge, LSU athletics leaders have begun planning to replace the aging Pete Maravich Assembly Center and work with city-parish government to make the new arena the city's top venue for major events.

As part of the agreement, the Raising Canes River Center downtown could be refocused as a space mostly for conventions — potentially with a new hotel — so as not to compete with the new arena for live events.

"From my vantage point, this is the type of big-scale, exciting project that we need more of in Baton Rouge," Metro Councilman Rowdy Gaudet said. "The possibility and opportunity to attract a large-scale arena that will bring in the types of concerts and musical venues that we in Baton Rouge have been missing out on is extremely exciting."

"We have an opportunity here in East Baton Rouge Parish to stand together as a whole community to bring a significant parishwide benefit to our residents with the development of a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment arena underway at LSU," Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said in a statement.

The plan, which is still in its early stages, aims to address what city leaders have for years identified as a problem: Baton Rouge needs more big events, and the boosts those events bring to the local economy.

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The Tiger Athletic Foundation has begun soliciting proposals from developers to finance and build the new venue, which the ordinance describes as a "best-in-class" arena for sports, music, and entertainment activities "for the greater East Baton Rouge region."

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The new facility would be similar to the Moody Center in Austin, but likely with an attached hotel and restaurants. It would be on LSU property (existing land or on land to be acquired). No location is specified, but LSU is asking for the agreement with the city of Baton Rouge to help build a case for a partnership with a management company. Budget appears to be around $300 million, which is pretty generous for a 12,000-15,000 seat arena.

With the exception of the BRSO and the smaller Music Hall, the condition for this new Arena would be that the River Center focus almost exclusively on conventions and that larger live events go to the new Arena.

PMAC on LSU campus


River Center in Baton Rouge (the newer part)


The Moody Center in Austin, which can seat up to 15,000 - but the seating is scalable depending on the event. The Moody Center has hosted Longhorn basketball, but also Green Day concerts and some professional sports. The Moody Center was built with the exact style of partnership that LSU is seeking for the replacement of the PMAC.