Sudduth Coliseum

The Lake Charles Civic Center is a 7,450-seat multi-purpose arena in Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA. It is home to the Louisiana Swashbucklers of the Indoor Football League. Located on Lakeshore Drive, it is the main arena of the Lake Charles Civic Center. It is a premier venue for hosting special events, including the 2006 Louisiana State Choir festival and Contraband Days. The center is named for former Lake Charles Mayor James Sudduth.

The center was authorized as the location of an American Basketball Association 21st century pro team, the "Lake Charles Hurricanes". However, lack of funding caused the team to fold without playing a single game.

Perhaps the proudest accomplishment of the center was during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, when it served as a shelter for refugees whose homes were devastated by the storms. It also serves as a host for gun shows, dance performances, professional and amateur fights, school field trips, The National Day of Prayer ceremony in Lake Charles, and about anything else a Civic Center would host. The parking lot serves as a place the carnival held during Countraband Days, a Louisiana festival held in Lake Charles.

The center also hosted UFC 22: There Can Be Only One Champion, as well as UFC 24. It also holds Rampage in the Cage events. It also used to be the home stadium of Lake Charles' former pro hockey team, the Lake Charles Ice Pirates who played in the Western Professional Hockeyleague which was not semi pro, but the team no longer plays.

Its former director, Allen "Puddler" Harris, is a former member of the bands of Ricky Nelson, Conway Twitty, and Jimmie Davis.

* [http://www.lakecharlesciviccenter.bigstep.com/generic.html?pid=2 Sudduth Coliseum Website]