The groundbreaking for the MCI Center (MCI was the title sponsor at the time) was scheduled for October 1995 with the Capital's home opener October 1997. It is to be located above the Gallery Place Metro Station near the National Mall. The Center will seat 19,700 for hockey and 18,756 for basketball. It will include 110 luxuary suites on three levels, 70,000 square feet on themed restaurants, themed retail and a sports meseum. Square footage will be 836,840. The estimated cost is $260 million. Architect: Ellerbe Becket, Kansas City, MO
December 2, 1997 (AP) - Whether it was the presence of President Clinton, the long-awaited opening of the MCI Center or the noise created by the sellout crowd, the Washington Wizards finally won a home game last night.
Opening their new $200 million arena with a 95-78 victory over Seattle, Juwan Howard and reserve Tracy Murray had 18 points apiece as the Wizards snapped the Super-Sonics' seven-game winning streak. Seattle lost for only the fourth time in 17 games.
"It means a lot, not just for the organinzation but for the whole city," Wizards guard Calbert Cheaney said. "I felt just like a kid when you get something new. You want to cherish it for a while."
Washington lost all five of its games at the US Airways Arena this season. Things were decidedly different in the Wizards' new home, however, as they took the lead in the first quarter and never lost it.
"It was fun from start to finish," said Wizards center Terry Davis, who scored the first basket in the new arena on a tip-in with 41 seconds elapsed.
Colors Inside Verizon Center Are As Hot As The Action
Winter may be bearing down on the eastern seaboard, but you'd never know it inside the new Verizon Center in the nation's capital. Fans entering the new home of the NBA's Wizards and the NHL's Capitals are at once engulfed by "hot" colors, extra-wide concourses and the best amenities in professional sports. The Verizon Center opened December 2, 1997.
The building exterior exudes a monumental civic quality which blends well with the neighborhood. But once inside, fans are bombarded with a rich color scheme that includes names such as "deep orchid," "chrome yellow" and "cherry red." "The design has been characterized as "buttoned down on the outside and like a playful child inside," said Brad Clark of Ellerbe Becket, the building's designer. "The idea is for excitement to mount as fans move from the entrances toward the seating areas."
Abe Pollin, chairman of Washington Sports and Entertainment (which owned the building, as well as the Wizards and Capitals), wanted to make the fans part of the experience by stimulating their senses. "Fans expect their experience to be more than just what happens during the game," said Clark. "Fans crave a full-service destination location, complete with fine dining, sports bars, team stores, concessions, memorabilia and interactive exhibits."
Designed for use year-round, the $260 million entertainment center will host concerts and special events when not in use by the Wizards or Capitals. Washingtonians and tourists will be able to shop in retail establishments and enjoy a variety of restaurants every day. In addition, the building is connected to a light rail station, providing affordable transportation to and from events.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND INTERVIEWS: Contact: Stuart Smith,
Director of Communications at Ellerbe Becket
Verizon Center is a design/build venture of DC Arena Associates (DCAA), which
also includes Clark Construction, KCF-SHG and Devrouax & Purnell.
POLLIN SELLS CAPITALS AND MINORITY POSITION IN MCI CENTER, WIZARDS
May 13, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures
Washington's Verizon Center has a new minority owner in an investment group led by Ted Leonsis of America Online. The group bought a share of the center and the NBA Wizards plus full ownership
of the NHL Capitals in a deal valued at $200 million. The Leonsis group also has right of first refusal to buy the Verizon Center and the Wizards. The Verizon Center and the teams are owned by 75-year-old Abe
Pollin and sets up a probable line of succession for the teams and venue.
The Verizon Center was built for $260 million and opened in 1997. It has been pioneering in its use of retail space in a sports venue with 72,500 square feet available for merchandise sales. The venue has
also been credited with helping to rehabilitate a decaying neighborhood.
Leonsis says he plans to aggressively market the NHL team and become more involved with the community.
| Events: | Approximately 200 annually, including Washington Wizards Basketball, Washington Capitals Hockey, and a wide variety of concerts, family shows and other cultural and entertainment events |
| Major Attractions: |
The MCI National Sports Gallery: An interactive sports museum showcasing some of the nation's most significant sports memorabilia. Home of the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame.
Discovery Channel: Destination D.C.: An entertaining and educational 25,000 square foot, three-story super store taking visitors on an imaginary journey throughout the world. Visit Discovery Channel online...
Velocity Grill: An upscale sports-themed restaurant overlooking the Wizards practice court. Patrons will enjoy fine cuisine designed to appeal to a variety of tastes and budgets.
|
Hours of Operation: |
9:00 am - 11:00 pm, 365 days a year (expected) |
| Metro Access: | All metro lines serviced by either Gallery Place, Archives, Judiciary Square, or Metro Center |
| Parking: | Approximately 10,000 parking spaces located within 10 block radius of arena
|
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| Verizon Center Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 6 |
| Concessions | | 5 |
| Scoreboard | | 6 |
| Ushers | | 3 |
| Fan Support | | 4 |
| Location | | 9.5 |
| Banners/History | | 6 |
| Entertainment | | 5 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 7 |
| Bonus: Chinese Marquee | | 3 |
| Bonus: Subway Station in Building | | 2 |
| Bonus: USRT Media Plug | | 2 |
| Total Score |  | 58.5 |
December 31, 2000
January 1, 2001
May 14, 2005 - The MCI Center in Washington DC opened in December of 1997, and is the home to the NBA
Wizards, the NHL Capitals, the WNBA Mystics, college basketball's Georgetown Hoyas, and
their newest team, the Washington Power of the National Lacrosse League. The arena is
located right in the heart of downtown Washington, and is just blocks away from the Capitol,
the White House, and most of our national historic treasures as well as federal buildings.
(Interesting thought - here in DC they found a suitable downtown location that did not
conflict or clash with our national historic monuments and buildings, yet in Ottawa there
seemed to be a problem with the idea of building an NHL venue so close to Parliament Hill,
therefore they opted to build the Corel Centre in the middle of a corn field miles away from
the city!)
The arena is located right adjacent to the Chinatown district, which gives this venue a
unique setting among the NBA/NHL arenas around the US and Canada. The MCI Center's
main marquee is shown in both English and Chinese, giving this building its distinctive
signature.
The immediate neighborhood surrounding the arena is attractive and vibrant, and from
what we were told this venue has been the nucleus for major redevelopment of the area.
There were several ongoing construction projects in the adjacent area for new offices and
condominiums, and there was a great selection of restaurants in the neighborhood. (We
had a terrific meal at the Capitol Brewery on New Year's Eve, and the next day we had lunch
at the Valhalla for sports enthusiasts such as ourselves, that being the ESPN Zone. Both
were easy walking distance to the MCI Center).
The building itself lacks any sort of plazas or wide open public spaces on the outside. It is
built from curb to curb, but we must say that access to the building is easy, with a Metro
subway station right at the arena, and ample parking underneath the building and many
nearby surface lots and onstreet parking. The other thing this building lacks is any sort of
main entrance or dramatic architectural signature. You walk through the main door and
through a small lobby and you are immediately in the concourse. The arena also houses
several unique retail entities - a Discovery Channel store, a steak restaurant, a sports bar
and disco, Modell's team store which also sells generic sports merchandise, and last but
not least the MCI Sports Gallery and Hall of Fame, a two story exhibit area with a wide range
of sports memorabilia and interactive games, and they are open throughout the week.
The concourses themselves are bright, spacious and modern - the color motif is fire engine
red and sunshine yellow, and on the lower concourse there are many windows to the
outside, with ample natural light. US Airways sponsors large murals of the artists and
events that have happened in the building, and they are very attractively displayed
throughout the 100 level concourse. (Some of our favorites being Shania Twain, Placido
Domingo and Hulk Hogan!)
Premium Seats
There are two levels of suites - the lower suites are on the sidelines above the 100 level
seats, and then there is a separate suite level above the club seats. The club seats are
located on the second level on each sideline only, and in the one end zone is a spacious
Harbor Club type restaurant, with two tiers of tables offering a full view of the playing
surface. A sumptuous buffet and light fare is offered, and there is also a full service bar
also overlooking the bowl. The club level is plushly carpeted in the red/yellow/purple motif.
By the way, all club seats were sold on a 4 year contract basis, so no single game tickets are
available at this time.
The Bowl
All of the seats are colored purple, and the main scoreboard has four sides with video
screens and basic score information. Hanging from the ceiling in each corner are 4 dot
matrix boards showing stats and other information. Recently the Caps/Wizards installed the
modern new LED digital display boards on the edge of the club level balconies. While these
boards are not as elaborate as those in Columbus or Minnesota, they nevertheless
represent the state of the art technology in presenting advertisements and special effects.
The Wizards did hardly anything more than scroll ads, but at the Caps game they regularly
presented special effects and led cheers with the boards... nicely done!
The out-of-town scoreboard at the Wizards game was a mish-mosh of every sport
imaginable - NFL, College bowl games, NHL and NBA. While we appreciated the information,
it should have been better organized. The Capitals only display other NHL scores.
Concessions
To get the good stuff you have to get to the club level - hot wings, caesar salads,
strombolis and specialty sandwiches that looked awesome. The regular concessions in the
arena were just ordinary.
Banners/Retired Numbers
Excellent job done here as only the most meaningful of banners hang here, with one small
exception descibed later in this paragraph. You will see Division, Conference and League
Championship banners (including Georgetown's '84 NCAA Title) only along with the Caps
and the Wizards each having three retired numbers. What we liked about the banners the
Caps had was that their banners not only had the names and numbers, but also face shots
of the players. The only other place we have seen this done is at the Air Canada Centre in
Toronto. Oh... Mystics... WNBA "attendance champions" in '98 and '99. "Wheeeeeeee!"
Summary
We got some really shabby treatment from the sad and pathetic Wizards, so to them we say
"not to worry, we will never grace your doorstep again". Overall we liked the building,
although there was nothing to make the experience itself a spectacular one. What these
two teams desperately need are packed houses, fans painting their faces and going nuts
for their teams, and spontaneous electricity and enthusiasm for their beloved Wizards and
Capitals. At this time it just ain't happening in DC.
