The Cajundome

Lafayette sits in the heart of Acadiana — the 22-parish French Louisiana region where Acadian refugees settled after their expulsion from Canada at the end of the Seven Years' War. Most Cajuns can trace their ancestry to approximately 50 families who lived in Port Royal, Acadia. The Louisiana State Legislature officially recognized the region in 1971 for its "strong French Acadian cultural aspects." In September 2005, the Cajundome opened as a shelter for Hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors while the Superdome was overwhelmed. Lafayette and several other municipalities set up both public and church-run shelters to handle the influx. The basketball season was shortened. Some residents stayed for weeks. The arena opened in 1985. It seats 13,000 — the largest basketball arena in the Sun Belt Conference and the largest college basketball arena in Louisiana. Home to the UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns basketball program, it has also hosted Elton John, Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift, and Whitney Houston in a city of 130,000. Event calendar at cajundome.com.