The Cajun Heartland State Fair is an eleven day state fair produced by North American Midway Entertainment and the CAJUNDOME staff offering an exciting entertainment line-up and discount ride offerings that attract over 175,000.
The 23rd Annual Cajun Heartland State Fair scheduled May 26 – June 5, 2011 will provide the best in family entertainment for children of all ages. North American Midway Entertainment will have numerous super rides such as the giant Ferris wheel, Crazy Mouse and the Mega Drop! Games, free concerts and free attractions will entertain everyone. Prizes and surprises await everyone at the Cajun Heartland State Fair.
The Cajun Heartland State Fair is managed by an innovative and insightful team of professionals priding themselves on knowing the right mix of entertainment arranged to provide maximum enjoyment for all ages. The ride specials, food, free music, free attractions and family oriented games make an outstanding summer experience. Truly, there is something for everyone to enjoy at the midway and around the fairgrounds.
The Cajundome is a 13,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Lafayette, Louisiana. It is home to the Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns basketball teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette Wildcatters of the Southern Indoor Football League and the Louisiana high school basketball state championship.
The arena also hosts many regional concerts (seating for concerts 8,481 to 13,500) and special events, such as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) events and the annual outdoor Cajun Heartland State Fair, an eleven day state fair that attracts over 175,000. The facility is a recognizable landmark of the city of Lafayette that is managed by the Cajundome Commission.
From the mid 1990s through the mid 2000s it was home to the ECHL’s now-defunct Louisiana IceGators. During that time, the arena earned the nickname ‘The Frozen Swamp’. In 2010 it became official that the Louisiana IceGators, now as part of the SPHL, would make a return to ‘The Frozen Swamp’. It also hosted the 1998, 1999, and 2007 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball tournaments. The Cajundome also hosts the annual Beta Club Louisiana state conventions.
The arena was completed in 1985, during the administration of Mayor William Dudley “Dud” Lastrapes, Jr., at a cost of $64 million. The project was authorized during the administration of Governor David C. Treen and completed when Edwin Washington Edwards returned to office for a third nonconsecutive term by unseating Treen in the Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1983. The stadium was first proposed in 1978 by the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, then headed by journalist Ron Gomez, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1980-1989.
Gomez envisioned a building for both university and municipal needs. In his autobiography, Gomez describes the project and its architect, Neil Nehrbass of Lafayette, accordingly:
“Several of his peers openly questioned Nehrbass’ ability to handle such an immense project. They had a good basis for their anxiety since Neil had never taken on such a colossal building. He was known, rather for his non-traditional and sometimes avant-garde designs. Nehrbass and I had been acquainted many years, and he recognized my passion for this project. We talked at great length about the building and the uses for it. Neil was the consummate artist. He dressed flamboyantly, chain smoked gold-tipped, pastel-colored cigarettes which he imported from England and was definitely not a sports fan. He had never attended a USL [since UL Lafayette] basketball game. But he was enthusiastic about this new project and visited the recently-opened domed facility in Biloxi, Mississippi, and Madison Square Garden in New York City to gain insight on how he would make the Lafayette structure unique.”[1]
In 2002 a new convention center addition to the arena was built. The new addition added 37,301 square feet (3,465 m²) of exhibit hall space to the Cajundome’s 40,000 square feet (3,716 m²) of arena floor space plus 39,685 square feet (3687 m²) of meeting space including a 15,682 square foot (1457 m²) ballroom, 12,159 square feet (1130 m²) of prefunction space and a 17,590 square foot (1630 m²) outdoor mall holding up to 2,118 for outdoor events.
Quoted from wikipedia.com and cajundome.com
What is it? A dome-shaped stadium
Where is it? 444 Cajundome Blvd. Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
Why go here? Grand events such as state fair and football games in this quiet town.
