Global InformationCapital One Arena information
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 Capital One Arena in 2023 | |
  Capital One Arena Location within Washington, DC  Capital One Arena Location within the United States | |
| Former names | MCI Center (1997–2006) Verizon Center (2006–2017) |
|---|---|
| Address | 601 F Street NW |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′53″N 77°1′15″W / 38.89806°N 77.02083°W |
| Public transit |  Washington Metro   at Gallery Place |
| Owner | Monumental Sports & Entertainment |
| Capacity | 20,356 (basketball) 18,573 (ice hockey)[1][2] |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | October 18, 1995 |
| Opened | December 2, 1997 |
| Construction cost | US$260 million (US$475 million in 2023 dollars[3]) |
| Architect | Ellerbe Becket[4] Devrouax & Purnell[4] KCF-SHG Architects[4] |
| Project manager | John Stranix and Seagull Bay Sports, LLC[5] |
| Structural engineer | Delon Hampton & Associates[6] |
| Services engineer | John J. Christie Associates[4] |
| General contractor | Clark/Smoot[7] |
| Tenants | |
| Washington Wizards (NBA) (1997–present) Washington Capitals (NHL) (1997–present) Georgetown Hoyas (NCAA) (1997–present) Washington Mystics (WNBA) (1998–2018) Washington Power (NLL) (2001–2002) Washington Valor (AFL) (2017–2019) | |
| Website | |
| capitalonearena | |
Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Chinatown section of the larger Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. The arena was opened on December 2, 1997 as MCI Center but renamed to Verizon Center in 2006 when MCI was acquired by Verizon Communications and changed again to its current name in 2017.
Owned and operated by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, it is the home arena of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Georgetown University men's basketball team. It was also home to the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1998 to 2018, after which they moved to the Entertainment and Sports Arena in southeast Washington for the 2019 season.
Though the arena project was a commercial success for its backers, it has contributed to the gentrification of the surrounding area, the displacement of most of its Asian-American residents (the local Chinese-American population, which numbered over 3,000 before the arena's construction, was a mere 300 in 2023), and the replacement of the most of the small businesses and restaurants that served the Asian-American community by large national corporations.[8][9][10][11]
- ^ Carrera, Katie (December 6, 2012). "Hershey Bears Play AHL Showcase at Verizon Center, Keeping Capitals Fans Entertained for One Night During NHL Lockout". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
- ^ Heath, Thomas (November 25, 2004). "On Hockey Nights, A Center of Inactivity". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
- ^ a b c d "Verizon Center". AECOM. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ Bailey, W. Scott (December 6, 2002). "New S.A. Sports Firm Set to Play Pivotal Pole in Big NBA Projects". San Antonio Business Journal. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
- ^ "Verizon Center". Delon Hampton & Associates. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
- ^ "MCI Center". Emporis.com. Retrieved September 29, 2011.[dead link]
- ^ "Name Change: MCI Center to be Verizon Center". ESPN. Associated Press. January 7, 2006. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ Kaplan, Seth (March 23, 2023). "After the arena came, the Asian population of Washington's Chinatown shrank". cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ Xiao, Jessica (February 1, 2023). "Incredibly shrinking DC Chinatown struggles to survive". AsAmNews. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ Hunt, Kristin (January 12, 2023). "With 76ers new stadium, is Philly's Chinatown destined for same fate as Washington, D.C. neighborhood?". PhillyVoice. Retrieved April 13, 2023.