The arena was named for Stafford Morgan Blackham, former dean of the Department of Animal Husbandry at SLI, and as such it was built to host livestock exhibitions as well as athletics (in a similar manner to the usage of LSU's Parker Coliseum).

Blackham hosted the Southland Conference men's basketball tournament in 1982.

In the 1960s, it became popular as a venue for pop concerts where acts like The Supremes, James Brown and Jackie Wilson.

It was home to the Acadiana Mudbugs of the Southern Indoor Football League for their 2009 season, and in fall 2009, the revived Louisiana IceGators began play there as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League.

[2] In April 2009, the venue held its first heavy metal concert, the 2009 No Fear Music Tour featuring Lamb Of God, As I Lay Dying, Children of Bodom, God Forbid and Municipal Waste.