There was a rumor that NOLA had sold off the radios as "unneeded" a while back. No confirmation, alas.
The arena was running on generator power before the storm really hit, and all it powered was the lights - it was not large enough to power the AC system or anything other than the lights, apparently.
The arena was running on generator power before the storm really hit...
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There is yet another "why" question! --- power grid down before the storm?