Verizon Center

This article is about the Washington, D.C. arena. For the Arkansas arena, see Verizon Arena. For the Minnesota arena, see Verizon Center (Minnesota). For the Los Angeles skyscraper, see MCI Center (Los Angeles).

Verizon Center

"The Phone Booth"
Former names	MCI Center (1997–2006)
Address	601 F Street Northwest
Location	Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′53″N 77°1′15″W
Public transit	Washington Metro at Gallery Place
Owner	Monumental Sports and Entertainment
Operator	Monumental Sports and Entertainment
Capacity	Basketball: 20,674 (1997–2002) 20,173 (2002–2010) 20,278 (2010–2011) 20,282 (2011–2012) 20,308 (2012–2013) 20,356 (2013–present) Ice hockey: 19,740 (1997–1999) 18,672 (1999–2002) 18,277 (2002–2010) 18,398 (2010–2011) 18,506 (2011–present)
Field size	1,020,000 square feet (95,000 m2)
Construction
Broke ground	October 18, 1995
Opened	December 2, 1997
Construction cost	US$260 million ($388 million in 2016 dollars)
Architect	Ellerbe Becket Devrouax & Purnell KCF-SHG Architects
Project manager	Seagull Bay Sports, LLC.
Structural engineer	Delon Hampton & Associates
Services engineer	John J. Christie Associates
General contractor	Clark/Smoot
Tenants
Washington Wizards (NBA) (1997–present) Washington Capitals (NHL) (1997–present) Georgetown Hoyas (NCAA) (1997–present) Washington Mystics (WNBA) (1998–present) Washington Power (NLL) (2001–2002) Washington Valor (AFL) (2017–present)

The Verizon Center, formerly known as the MCI Center, is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C.

Named after its sponsor, the telecommunications company Verizon Communications, the Verizon Center has been nicknamed the "Phone Booth" by local media outlets and fans, because of its historical association with various telecommunications companies, such as MCI Inc. and Verizon. Located in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the Verizon Center sits atop the Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro.

Overview

The Verizon Center is home to the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Georgetown University men's basketball team, the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Washington International Horse Show and was formerly the home of the Washington Power of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) from 2001 to 2002, and most recently the Washington Valor Arena Football League franchise. The arena's seating capacity is 20,308 for basketball and 18,506 for ice hockey.

The Verizon Center is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment and is situated on top of land leased from the District of Columbia. The Verizon Center was built in the mid-1990s solely with private financing and was originally owned by Abe Pollin from 1997 to June 2010. On June 10, 2010, following Pollin's death in November 2009, the Pollin family sold Verizon Center, along with the Washington Wizards and the Washington-Baltimore area Ticketmaster franchise, to Ted Leonsis, who already owned the arena's other tenant, the Washington Capitals. Leonsis subsequently formed a new management company—Monumental Sports & Entertainment. The Verizon Center is largely considered to be a commercial success and is regarded as one of the driving catalysts of the revitalization (and gentrification) of Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown neighborhood. A report emerged in May 2015 that Verizon would not renew its naming rights to the Verizon Center when its agreement with Monumental ends in 2018. In the same week, it was announced that Etihad Airways signed a deal to become the official airline of the arena, sparking speculation that Etihad might be the leading contender to assume naming rights in 2017.

History

The Verizon Center, located in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Chinatown, originally opened on December 2, 1997, as the MCI Center, named after its sponsor, MCI Inc. Nearly a decade later, in January 2006, Verizon Communications purchased MCI Inc. and the arena's name was changed accordingly. The following year, in 2007, the "first true indoor high-definition LED scoreboard" was installed at the Verizon Center. On December 2, 2007, the Verizon Center celebrated the ten year anniversary of its opening. In December 2013, all electronic communications to and from the scoreboard and advertising fasciae were updated by ColosseoEAS.

Role in Chinatown

When the arena opened there was concern that it would lead to the displacement of Chinese businesses and culture in the area that is the city's Chinatown. The surrounding area has indeed been dramatically gentrified, and most of the Chinese residents and businesses who lived and operated in the neighborhood when the arena first opened have been displaced because of the spike in real estate prices. The Chinese population in Chinatown is a ghost of its former self—recent estimates hold that the number of Chinese in the neighborhood is down to around 400 to 500. The Chinese-owned restaurants and businesses in the Chinatown area are largely gone and there has not been a full-service Chinese grocery in the neighborhood since 2005. In their place, new residents and visitors to the area find an increasing number of mid-tier and upscale chains, such as Hooters, Fuddruckers and Legal Sea Foods.

Ice quality issues

In December 2007, then-Capitals captain Chris Clark gained a bit of press by stating that he believed the Verizon Center had the worst ice in the NHL. "There's a lot of ruts in the ice. It's soft. It's wet half the time. I could see a lot of injuries coming from the ice there. It could cost [players] their jobs... Even guys on other teams say the same thing. When we're facing off, they say, 'How do you guys play on this?'" Capitals owner Ted Leonsis addressed this criticism directly. The ice quality issue has been persistent both since the opening of Verizon Center and with the Capitals franchise in general. Since Leonsis' acquisition of Verizon Center, the quality of the ice has gotten better and number of complaints has noticeably decreased. During playoff games, the arena installs a system to help remove hot air and humidity to maintain the ice conditions during warmer times of the year.

External links

• Official website

Events and tenants
Preceded by first arena	Home of the Washington Valor 2017 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by first arena	Home of the Washington Mystics 1998 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by Capital Centre	Home of the Washington Capitals 1997 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by Capital Centre	Home of the Washington Wizards 1997 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado	Host of the Frozen Four 2009	Succeeded by Ford Field Detroit, Michigan
Preceded by TD Banknorth Garden	Host of the Survivor Series 2009	Succeeded by American Airlines Arena
Preceded by U.S. Bank Arena	Host of WWE Cyber Sunday 2007	Succeeded by US Airways Center