Municipal Auditorium (New Orleans) 2005 the auditorium suffered damage from Hurricane Katrina and associated flooding ("see:" Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans). Future usage of the arena is currently uncertain. Municipal Auditorium (New Orleans) The Municipal Auditorium is a 7,853-seat multi-purpose arena in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a component of the New Orleans Cultural Center, alongside the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts. It is located in the Tremé neighborhood in Louis Armstrong Park adjacent to Congo Square. The auditorium opened on May 30, 1930. It was constructed by the contractor George A. Caldwell, who also designed nine buildings on the Louisiana
Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans Hurricane Ivan's threat to the city resulted in the largest evacuation of the city to date. Mayor Ray Nagin issued a call for a voluntary evacuation of the city at 6 pm on September 13. An estimated 600,000 or more evacuated from Greater New Orleans. The contraflow plan was put into full effect for the first time, but rather late in the evacuation due to various confusions. This proved valuable practice, for the contraflow was implemented much more smoothly in 2005. Hurricane Pam was a hypothetical hurricane used as a disaster scenario to drive planning for a 13-parish area in