The UNO Lakefront Arena, home of the New Orleans Privateers men’s and women’s basketball teams and a premier live entertainment destination, turns 31 this month.
The 8,700 seat Arena has played host to all sorts of fantastic world class acts over the years, not to mention Pope John Paul II, the 14th Dalai Lama, Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, and 12 million other patrons.
Here’s a look back in time at some of its historic performances:
November 1, 1983: Grand Opening: Lionel Richie and The Pointer Sisters
May 7, 1985: Madonna
January 25, 1986: Frank Sinatra
July 26, 1987: Run DMC
November 23, 1989: Public Enemy
August 18, 1993: Tina Turner
April 30, 1994: Aretha Franklin
April 29, 1995: Ray Charles
August 24, 1996: AC/DC
February 3, 1999: Bob Dylan
August 26, 2003: Tom Petty
May 2, 2008: Lakefront Arena re-opened its doors to the public on May 2, 2008 with Disney’s High School Musical On Ice, after being closed for nearly three years following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
December 27, 2009: Lady Gaga
June 23, 2012: Miranda Lambert
November 11, 2014: James Taylor
Check out Widespread Panic playing the Dr. John classic “I Walk on Guilded Splinters” in 2001 at the Lakefront Arena.