Having just reached the “legal age” of 21 this year, the Smoothie King Center is actually the oldest building in the Southwest Division, but by a slim margin. Each of the New Orleans Pelicans’ division rivals from Texas and Tennessee opened their arena doors in the early 2000s, starting with Dallas (’01), followed by San Antonio (’02), Houston (’03) and Memphis (’04).
When asked to select their favorite among those four relatively new venues, there was little consensus among New Orleans’ TV and radio talent, with nearly everyone picking a different favorite. Incidentally, there are only seven NBA arenas newer than FedEx Forum in Memphis, a group that includes Charlotte, Orlando, Brooklyn, Sacramento, Detroit, Milwaukee and Golden State.