Kenner’s City Council is set to vote on a resolution that would allow the city to begin talks to bring the New Orleans Pelicans’ G‑League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, to the Pontchartrain Center. If approved, officials could explore relocating the team and scheduling G‑League home games at the arena without committing to a lease.
The resolution, filed by Mayor Michael Glaser, is on Tuesday’s council agenda and would authorize negotiations and potential memorandum-of-understanding discussions. Local officials noted that several G‑League teams have recently moved closer to their NBA parent clubs, a trend they hope to follow, as reported by NOLA.
How the venues compare
The Pontchartrain Center seats about 3,600 fans for sporting events, according to Wikipedia, which outlines the Kenner facility's footprint and typical uses. Birmingham's Legacy Arena, where the Squadron currently plays, can hold roughly 17,654 spectators for sporting events, per Wikipedia. That wide gap in capacity would shape how a Kenner-based G‑League schedule might be structured and could mean tweaking dates or making temporary upgrades at the Pontchartrain Center to accommodate league play.
Squadron's footprint and attendance
The Birmingham Squadron currently lists Legacy Arena at the BJCC as its home court on the team's official site, with Birmingham Squadron information placing the club inside the BJCC complex. Since relocating from Erie in 2021, the franchise has seen crowds that swing from sparse to solid. Reporting reviewed by NOLA.com cites an official attendance of about 1,483 for a January game and recalls an inaugural Birmingham turnout that approached 5,000 in 2021. That range points to modest regular-season numbers with the potential for significantly bigger crowds on the right night with the right promotion.
What's next for Kenner
The upcoming council vote will determine whether city staff can move from courtship to actual negotiations. If members approve the resolution, any final agreement would still hinge on hammering out lease terms, game dates and possible facility work at the Pontchartrain Center. City leaders and the Pelicans organization would also need to sort out ticketing, travel windows and game-day operations before any season in Kenner could become a reality. For now, the proposal functions strictly as an authorization to negotiate, an early but necessary procedural step if both sides decide this regional G‑League experiment is worth pursuing.
