About Capital One Arena
Capital One Arena is an NBA and NHL arena in Washington, District of Columbia. It opened in 1997. It was designed by Ellerbe Becket. It seats 20,674. Its current tenants are Washington Capitals (NHL) and Washington Wizards (NBA). It was formerly home to Washington Mystics (WNBA, 1998–2018). In all, 3 teams from 3 leagues have called it home. By capacity it ranks 2nd of 30 current NBA venues and 4th of 32 current NHL venues, counting only venues with a known capacity. On our ranked lists it ranks 230th oldest of 354 stadiums and arenas still in use, 59th for most name changes among 121 venues with 3 or more names and 30th for most tenants among 67 venues with 3 or more teams. It has also been known as MCI Center (1997–2005) and Verizon Center (2006–2016).
Appears in
- 230th oldest of 354 stadiums and arenas still in use
- 59th for most name changes among 121 venues with 3 or more names
- 30th for most tenants among 67 venues with 3 or more teams
- 11th oldest of 37 basketball arenas still in use
- 16th for most name changes among 29 basketball arenas with 3 or more names
- 15th longest single tenancy (28 years) of the 109 longest on record in basketball arenas
- 19th for most name changes among 26 hockey arenas with 3 or more names
- 25th longest single tenancy (28 years) of the 100 longest on record in hockey arenas
- 14th longest single tenancy (28 years) of the 104 longest on record in NBA arenas
- 17th for most name changes among 24 NHL arenas with 3 or more names
- 8th for most name changes among 13 WNBA arenas with 3 or more names
- 8th longest single tenancy (20 years) of the 37 longest on record in WNBA arenas
Venue Information
Address
Architect
Address derived from the venue's coordinates using data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Elevation of the venue's coordinates from USGS and NASA SRTM elevation data, via Open Topo Data.
Architect and operator credits from Wikidata.
Capacity by layout
Seating capacity depends on how the building is laid out for each event. Figures are the best sourced claim per layout.
Teams
| Team | League | Years |
|---|---|---|
|
Washington Capitals While based here: 28 seasons · 1156-998-69 regular season · 20 postseason trips
NHL · 1998–present
|
NHL | 1998–present |
|
Washington Wizards While based here: 29 seasons · 929-1375 regular season · 9 postseason trips
NBA · 1998–present
|
NBA | 1998–present |
|
Washington Mystics While based here: 21 seasons · 295-407 regular season · 11 postseason trips
WNBA · 1998–2018
|
WNBA | 1998–2018 |
Records are each team's full-season results while it was based here, home and away games alike, from final scores. They are not records of games played at this venue.
NHL records count overtime and shootout losses as losses.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the capacity of Capital One Arena?
The capacity of Capital One Arena is 20,674.
When was Capital One Arena built?
Capital One Arena opened in 1997.
Who designed Capital One Arena?
Capital One Arena was designed by Ellerbe Becket.
Who plays at Capital One Arena?
Capital One Arena is the home venue of Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals.
Where did the Washington Wizards play before Capital One Arena?
Before moving to Capital One Arena in 1998, the Washington Wizards played at US Airways Arena from 1974 to 1997.
Where did the Washington Capitals play before Capital One Arena?
Before moving to Capital One Arena in 1998, the Washington Capitals played at US Airways Arena from 1975 to 1997.
Where did the Washington Mystics play after Capital One Arena?
After leaving Capital One Arena in 2018, the Washington Mystics moved to CareFirst Arena in 2019.
Sources
Where the facts on this page were read from. How VenueStats compiles them.
- Open Topo Data (Public domain): Elevation.
- OpenStreetMap Nominatim (ODbL): Address.
- VenueStats compilation: Opening and closing years, name history and teams (compiled by VenueStats from Sports Reference and Wikipedia).
- Wikidata (CC0): Capacity, Coordinates (Wikidata places the building within 17 m of this point), Architect and operator.
- Wikimedia Commons (CC BY): Photograph.
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA): Capacity, basketball layout, Capacity, hockey layout.
Historical Names
Location
Nearby Venues
| Venue | Years | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Swampoodle Grounds | 1886–1907 | 0.7 mi |
| Capital Park I | 0.8 mi | |
| Uline Arena | 1941– | 1.1 mi |
| Athletic Park | 1.2 mi | |
| Boundary Field | 1891–1911 | 1.3 mi |
| Griffith Stadium | 1911–1961 | 1.3 mi |
Straight-line distance between the venues' coordinates.
References
Teams on Wikipedia
Every source for the facts on this page is listed under Sources.