Shaquille O’Neal is no stranger to a Super Bowl party. But he hasn’t always left them impressed.
“You pay all this money and waste all this time standing in line for what they call ‘a party,’” the 7-foot-1 basketball Hall of Famer said in an interview Monday. “And what do you get? A bunch of people standing around. You can’t hear the music. You can’t see the DJ. You can’t get a drink.”
“Once I retired,” he added, “some friends and I decided to throw a real Super Bowl party.”
That is exactly what Shaq’s Fun House has become. Now in its seventh year, the sports superstar is determined to host an extravaganza as big as his personality.
This year is extra special, he said, because it’s a homecoming. O’Neal starred on the court at LSU from 1989 to 1992. The center has said those years, which launched his career, were among the best of his life.
He makes it a point to return to Louisiana three or four times each year.
“You know how in ‘Superman 2,’ Superman goes back to the North Pole to revive his powers?” O’Neal asked. “Well, Louisiana is where I come to rejuvenate my powers. I go to LSU basketball games, I go to the dorms, I go to NOLA and I get some beignets, I stop by the Kenner mall. It makes me feel relaxed, and to be able to bring my party here feels special. I want to share what I’ve created with my Louisiana people.”
O’Neal said his aim has always been to create a party with way more entertainment than you’d expect, but for much less money than you would guess.
Shaq’s Fun House is a 21-and-older event and will take place on Friday, Feb. 7, two days before the Super Bowl.
The event will take place at Mardi Gras World, adding to what O’Neal thinks will be an atmosphere matched only by New Orleans’ Carnival season.
The party begins at 9 p.m., and ticket prices start at $299.99. ($99 and $199 tickets were sold out by Friday morning.)
All tickets include access to a six-hour open bar which will include a variety of products by corporate event sponsors: seltzers and beer by Anheuser-Busch; cocktails by Pepsi and Gran Coramino Tequila; and Shaq’s own brand of gummies — Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies.
Food will be available from corporate partners like Papa Johns and Häagen-Dazs, and entertainment will come in the form of carnival rides and a star-studded live music lineup including EDM superstar John Summit, Grammy-winner Ludacris, DJs Myles O’Neal and ERIE, and — as is the case at every iteration of Shaq’s Fun House — music by Shaq himself.
“This is the best music you’re going to find all week long,” O’Neal said. “You’re going to tell me you don’t want to see Ludacris and John Summit perform on the same night? You know a party that can provide that is going to be awesome, and that’s what Shaq’s Fun House is.”