Blackham Coliseum

[bbernard6]

Hockey and Beer go together very well, I spoke with Ron Handy Recently....there will need to be some major renovations....unfortunately...comfortable seating is not in the works right of way, but soon to follow depending on the teams performance

[RCAJUN90]

Hockey and Beer go together very well, I spoke with Ron Handy Recently....there will need to be some major renovations....unfortunately...comfortable seating is not in the works right of way, but soon to follow depending on the teams performance

I guess if I was them I would wait also. One of the big reasons the IceGators didn't workout the first time was they spent almost as much as they made.

Did Coach Handy mention what they were going to renovate at Blackham? I would think they would want a nice scoreboard. Blackham looks like it could be a cool rink. Smaller than the Cajundome but more intimate and louder with fewer fans.

[Cajunbander]

If you look on icegators.com, they have a seating chart for Blackham. You can hover over a section to see what it would look like to sit there. the views are digitally created, and if you look close enough, you can see that the seats are all chair, not benches.

[keithj]

...if you look close enough, you can see that the seats are all chair, not benches.

I don't think that's Blackham. It's some other arena with a similar seating arrangement to show you the view of the ice. No chair backs.

[GRIM]

OK I went to the Blackham recently for the gun show. I looked for the renovations that they said were going to happen. All I can say is.... they better hurry up because I didnt see any progress not any work underway. Handy said they will install a jumbo-tron, its not there yet. Maybe the first thing they should do is wipe the 20 years of dust off of the 4 basket ball goals that are hanging from the roof??? (Then remove them completely) As far as the seating goes, I doubt that they will be putting chairs, simply because it is costly and time consuming. There is not enough time to do it before the season starts, they should not have to pay the whole price since it's not their building, there is not enough room for them anyway, and if youre too pansy to sit on a bench then you are probably watching golf or tennis anyway. A lot of people are down on the Blackham, they must not remember lafayette before the cajundome. Without the BC, Lafayette would have been void of lots of past events. Rodeo, circus, boyscout rallies, gunshows, etc... Personally i like the BC, i think its low roof and smaller size will make the games more exciting, and louder! It's more like being in the game. (Although after the first season in the cajundome I moved my season tickets from the first level to the third because i like being higher up to see more) One of the best things about the BC is the LACK of Greg Davis.

OH one thing i did notice about the BC when i was in the gun show it was about 95 degrees outside and it was actually COLD inside. In a building that small adding ICE will make it really cold. In the winter they will have to run the heaters, I wonder if it will effect the ice since the building is smaller? SLUSH hockey!!!

[anhil8tor]

OK I went to the Blackham recently for the gun show. I looked for the renovations that they said were going to happen. All I can say is.... they better hurry up because I didnt see any progress not any work underway. Handy said they will install a jumbo-tron, its not there yet. Maybe the first thing they should do is wipe the 20 years of dust off of the 4 basket ball goals that are hanging from the roof??? (Then remove them completely) As far as the seating goes, I doubt that they will be putting chairs, simply because it is costly and time consuming. There is not enough time to do it before the season starts, they should not have to pay the whole price since it's not their building, there is not enough room for them anyway, and if youre too pansy to sit on a bench then you are probably watching golf or tennis anyway. A lot of people are down on the Blackham, they must not remember lafayette before the cajundome. Without the BC, Lafayette would have been void of lots of past events. Rodeo, circus, boyscout rallies, gunshows, etc... Personally i like the BC, i think its low roof and smaller size will make the games more exciting, and louder! It's more like being in the game. (Although after the first season in the cajundome I moved my season tickets from the first level to the third because i like being higher up to see more) One of the best things about the BC is the LACK of Greg Davis.

OH one thing i did notice about the BC when i was in the gun show it was about 95 degrees outside and it was actually COLD inside. In a building that small adding ICE will make it really cold. In the winter they will have to run the heaters, I wonder if it will effect the ice since the building is smaller? SLUSH hockey!!!

I'm impressed with 20 year old dust... I thought the cajuns played some games on those goals a year or two ago. Maybe they took the dust off and then put it back?

[LSUConnMan]

"Does anyone have any pictures or links of the outside and preferably the inside of Blackham Coliseum. I have been looking around the net and have found none. I am in Lake Charles and am hungry for hockey. Just want to start planning where I am gonna sit. Thanks for any help."

I was at the Lake Charles Civic Center last week, and it's in a whole different realm compared to Blackham. Oddly enough, I've been there about 8 times over the past few months and don't have a single wideangle picture...which is probably due to the aesthetics of the building. Except for Homecoming, there's always been a cash bar at the various sporting events. I'd anticipate alcohol to hockey to be a given.

These pics provide a little insight for what you should expect of the facility.