The LSU Assembly Center was opened in 1972 as a multipurpose arena for the Baton Rouge area and as a home for several LSU sports teams, including the basketball, wrestling, volleyball, and gymnastics teams. After the death of former LSU basketball star Pete Maravich in 1988, the building was renamed the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in his honor (sometimes called PMAC for short). The Assembly Center also hosted many national touring groups, LSU's commencement ceremonies, Governors Edwin Edwards' and David Treen's inauguration balls, and a few Mardi Gras balls. It was also the infamous location of LSU student registration every autumn, as thousands of students lined up to register for classes and pay fees. The PMAC has also served as an evacuation point in several emergencies, such as the Allied Chemical plant's chlorine spill in 1976. It served as a field hospital for thousands of evacuees from New Orleans and other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
From the description of Louisiana State University Assembly Center records, 1970-1988. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 213813331
