Doors open an hour before showtime at most shows here.
Enter the showtime, say which ticket and how you’re getting there, and see when to leave.
Show night at Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana. Not sure which time on the ticket matters? The concert night plan covers doors, opener and headliner at any venue.
The time on the ticket is when the first act is due on, and at most shows here the doors opened an hour earlier. With a general-admission ticket that gap is not spare: the spot on the floor you get is decided by where you are in the line when the doors open, and everyone with the same idea is on the same walk in. So the plan puts you in that line before doors, and the stretch from doors to showtime is a row of its own.
With a reserved seat the deadline really is the show. Aim to be in your seat ten minutes before the first act, and budget the walk to your row: it is the part people misjudge, not the drive.
Here is the evening drawn to scale. A maps app can number the ride in. The rest is the queue at the door, the screening, and the walk to your row.
Front door to your seat: 1hr 21min
The usual show times here
There is no fixed schedule at a concert venue; the promoter sets each show's time, and these are the ones this one runs most often. Pick the one on your ticket and every step before it moves. Anything else, tap the showtime and type it in.
Doors are an hour before showtime at most shows. Smoothie King Center leaves door times to each show, and four of the five concerts on its calendar open an hour before the show. The other opens ninety minutes out, so check your event page in the week of the show. The event page on the official Smoothie King Center site lists doors and showtime; the ticket often lists only one. If your gap is different, edit the settle-in row.
The arena sits in the Superdome complex at 1501 Dave Dixon Drive, and several of its garages are reached by a U-turn on Poydras Street. The route 46 streetcar runs along Loyola Avenue between Union Passenger Terminal and Canal Street and stops at Poydras Street, by the Superdome and the arena. Free bike racks are in Lot 3 on the wall closest to Champions Garage, reached from the pedestrian gates at Dave Dixon Drive and Le Rouge Lane.
Smoothie King Center was previously called New Orleans Arena, so older directions, tickets and map pins may still use that name.
The arena shares its parking with the Superdome next door: seven garages and two surface lots, about 7,000 spaces in all. The arena asks anyone driving to buy a pass ahead through JustPark, which shows when your garage opens as you book. The garages take cards only, there is no re-entry and no overnight parking, and tailgating is not allowed anywhere on the property.
Rideshare drops off and picks up in a geo-fenced zone on Poydras Street between Clara Street and Loyola Avenue, about a five-minute walk away. Signs lead through Champions Square to the arena and back again afterwards, though the zone can change by event.
Not every garage or lot opens for every event, so drive to the one named on your JustPark pass. Entry locations can also change by show. Premium seats sold for a single night come with expedited entry.
Doors open an hour before the show at most concerts here. Concerts here are clear-bag only: one clear vinyl bag up to 14 by 14 by 6 inches or one gallon Ziploc bag, plus small clutches up to 4.5 by 6.5 inches. Diaper bags that are not clear are turned away, backpacks are on the prohibited list, and the arena has nowhere to store a bag that fails.
Depending on the event, security runs a visual or a full search of everyone before entry. Strollers are allowed at concerts, with storage across from Section 108. No outside food or drink, the building is cashless with cash-to-card machines at Sections 108 and 310, and there is no re-entry. Smoking and vaping are banned inside and anywhere within the security perimeter.
Doors, lots and bag rules change; the official site is the live source.
For a general-admission ticket, be in the line before doors, which are an hour before showtime at most shows here. Be there half an hour before they open, and the ticket chip rebuilds the plan around that. For a reserved seat, aim to be at the gate 28 minutes before the show, which is what the plan above shows. The part to budget for is getting into a garage and through the clear-bag check.
About 6:24 PM from New Orleans with a reserved seat, driving in, travelling light. Earlier for a general-admission floor ticket. Every row above is editable; the first travel row is your leave-by time.
The arena shares seven garages and two surface lots with the Superdome, about 7,000 spaces, though not all of them open for every event. Buy a pass ahead through JustPark, which shows the opening time for your show when you book. Cards only, no re-entry and no tailgating. Rideshare uses a geo-fenced zone on Poydras Street between Clara Street and Loyola Avenue, about five minutes’ walk away. The official Smoothie King Center site is where the current arrangements are posted.
Yes. The route 46 streetcar runs along Loyola Avenue between Union Passenger Terminal and Canal Street and stops at Poydras Street, by the Superdome and the arena. The arena also lists a public transportation stop on Poydras Street across from the Superdome’s Gate A.
Clear bags only at concerts: one clear vinyl bag up to 14 by 14 by 6 inches or one gallon Ziploc bag, plus small clutches up to 4.5 by 6.5 inches. Diaper bags that are not clear are turned away, backpacks are prohibited, and the arena cannot store a bag that fails. No outside food or drink, and no re-entry.
Going to a game instead? The stadium pages. Flying in? The airport pages.
Start the plan in the app, and the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island show the time left, with a bar that fills as each step passes.
Glance at it on the walk in without opening the app.
Every step also gets its own alert, and sharing the plan gives whoever is driving the same leave time, with alerts on their phone.
Live Activities are part of Premium, a one-time unlock.
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