The dilapidated Market Street Power Plant, which has become a dangerous magnet for vagrants and urban explorers, appears to be on track for a rebirth as a mid-sized music venue complex. According to NOLA.com, international venue operator ASM Global will help create a 5,000-seat indoor music venue inside the defunct power plant, and BRG Hospitality group will be behind the food and drink offerings at the venue. The proposed venue would have a capacity that fills a niche in New Orleans, with an ideal size for acts slightly too small to fill the Smoothie King Center. What Now New Orleans has reached out to the group for more details.
Although formal contracts haven’t been signed, the new venue would resemble one that ASM Global already operates in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. Called the Coca-Cola Music Hall, that venue opened in 2021 and has hosted an average of more than 130 events per year.
As for the Market Street Power Plant, it operated from 1905 to the mid-1970s, and numerous plans to revitalize it over the intervening years have evaporated. The time could be right for a rebirth with significant developer attention being paid to the River District near the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
