Verizon Center

The Verizon Center is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C., named after telecommunications sponsor Verizon Communications. The name of the arena was previously MCI Center, but when MCI was acquired by Verizon, the name was changed to “Verizon Center” effective March 5, 2006. The arena has been nicknamed the “Phone Booth” because of its association with telecommunications companies.

Seating capacity: – 20,173 (basketball), 18,277 (hockey)
Opened: – December 2, 1997
Owner: – Washington Sports and Entertainment (land leased from the City of Washington)
Operator: – Washington Sports and Entertainment
Former names: – MCI Center (1997-2006)

The arena opened on December 2, 1997 in downtown Washington’s Chinatown. The building replaced the US Air Arena, which was located on the Capital Beltway in Landover, Maryland. Some complained that the building’s construction, by closing off a block of G St, corrupted the historic L’Enfant layout of the Washington city streets. Others were concerned it would lead to the displacement of Chinese businesses in Chinatown. While largely considered a commercial success, the Verizon Center was the catalyst that led to gentrification of Washington’s Chinatown, with rent increases after construction of the Arena forcing many small Chinese businesses to close. On the other hand, the Arena is not only a popular venue for sports and concerts, but helped to turned “Gallery Place/Chinatown” neighborhood into one of the prime sites for commercial development in Washington. Virtually all Chinese residents in the D.C. area already live in the suburbs, and displacement that occurred over the years has been mostly commercial rather than residential.

January 21, 2006 – Georgetown Hoyas vs. Duke Blue Devils: The then-unranked Georgetown University Hoyas would defeat the then-undefeated #1 ranked Blue Devils 87-84, marking the first notable game of coach John Thompson III’s career, as well as an important boost enroute to the NCAA tournament, where they would reach the Sweet Sixteen.

The arena is owned by Washington Sports & Entertainment (which owns the Wizards and formerly owned the Capitals), but on land leased from the city of Washington. At the end of the 30 year lease, the land is set to revert back to the ownership of the city, with the mayor of Washington to make mandatory biennial reviews of the city’s continuing need for the arena.

The Verizon Center sits atop the Gallery Place-Chinatown station on the Red, Yellow, and Green lines of the Washington Metro, making it the second major sports venue to sit atop a train station, after Madison Square Garden was built above New York Penn Station.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

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Verizon Center website
Verizon Center wikipedia entry
Washington Wizards website
Washington Mystics website
Washington Capitals website

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