Verizon Center
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- For the arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, see Verizon Wireless Arena.
| Verizon Center
<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">"Phone Booth"</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">Image:Vercentlogo.png | |
|---|---|
| Location | 601 F Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20004 |
| Opened | December 2, 1997 |
| Owner | Washington Sports and Entertainment (land leased from the City of Washington)
<tr><td>Operator</td><td>Washington Sports and Entertainment</td></tr><tr><th style="background: #efefef;" colspan="2">Former names</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2">MCI Center (1997-2006)</td></tr> |
| Tenants | |
| Washington Wizards (NBA) (1997-present) Washington Mystics (WNBA) (1998-present) Washington Capitals (NHL) (1997-present) Georgetown Hoyas (NCAA) | |
| Seats | |
| 20,173 (basketball) 18,277 (hockey) | |
The Verizon Center is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C., USA, 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 [1]. The arena has been nicknamed the "Phone Booth" because of its association with telecommunications companies.
Contents |
[edit] History
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.
[edit] Tenants
The Verizon Center is the home arena of the NBA's Washington Wizards, the NHL's Washington Capitals, the WNBA's Washington Mystics, and the NCAA's Georgetown University Hoyas mens basketball. It used to also be home to the Washington Power of the NLL from 2001-2002. It seats 20,173 for basketball, and 18,277 for hockey.
[edit] Notable events
As well as the home games of the Center's four sports tenants, the arena also hosts numerous special events, from concerts to Champions on Ice to the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus.
- World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Starrcade, 1997-2000
- NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, first and second rounds, 1998, 2002 & 2008
- NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, regionals, 2006
- World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Backlash, 2000
- NBA All-Star Game, 2001
- Then known as MCI Center, the facility hosted the 2003 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
- World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) SummerSlam, 2005
- Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men's basketball tournament, 2005
- BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament, annual event involving the University of Maryland and The George Washington University, among others. Held as a two-game showcase with the aforementioned schools as hosts.
- World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) The Great American Bash, 2007
- NCAA's Men's Frozen Four hockey championship, 2009
[edit] Notable Games
June 16, 1998 - Washington Capitals vs. Detroit Red Wings: The Caps lose 4-1 to the Red Wings to be swept four games to none in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals. It was the first, and as yet still only, visit to the Stanley Cup Finals for the Caps.
February 21, 2003 - Washington Wizards vs. New Jersey Nets: Michael Jordan scores 43 points, becoming the All-Time oldest player, and only player, at age 40 or older to ever score 40 points in an NBA Game. The Wizards win 89-86.
April 5th, 2003 - Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: Peter Bondra passes Mike Gartner as the Washington Capitals' career scoring leader. A tip-in ties the record early in the 3rd period and an empty net goal with 12 seconds left in the game sealed the record for Bondra. The Caps won 5-3.
April 30, 2004 - Washington Wizards vs. Chicago Bulls: The Wizards win their first playoff game in nearly 17 years with a 117-99 win over the Bulls. Oddly enough, it is the first NBA playoff game ever held within the District of Columbia (the team always played at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland).
May 6, 2005 - Washington Wizards vs. Chicago Bulls: Jared Jeffries picked up a loose ball and went in for an uncontested tiebreaking dunk with 32 seconds left, thus giving the Washington Wizards a 94-91 win over the Bulls and taking the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series from them four games to two. The game marks the first playoff series victory for the Wizards in twenty three years.
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.
March 26, 2006 - George Mason Patriots vs. Connecticut Huskies: The Patriots, playing in front of a mostly partisan crowd due to George Mason University being just across the Potomac River from the arena, defeat the top seeded UCONN Huskies to become only the second double-digit seed to reach the NCAA Final Four.
[edit] Ownership
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.
[edit] Trivia
- The Verizon Center sits atop the Gallery Place-Chinatown station on the Red, Yellow, and Green lines of the Washington Metro.
- Chris Rock filmed a brief scene from his 2003 comedy Head of State in the building.
[edit] External link
| Preceded by: US Airways Arena 1973–1997 | Home of the Washington Wizards 1997–present | Succeeded by: current |
| Preceded by: US Airways Arena 1974–1997 | Home of the Washington Capitals 1997–present | Succeeded by: current |
| Current arenas in the National Hockey League | ||
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Centre | BankAtlantic Center | Bell Centre | Continental Airlines Arena | HSBC Arena | Madison Square Garden | Mellon Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Philips Arena | RBC Center | St. Pete Times Forum | Scotiabank Place | TD Banknorth Garden | Verizon Center | Wachovia Center | American Airlines Center | Gaylord Entertainment Center | GM Place | HP Pavilion | Honda Center | Jobing.com Arena | Joe Louis Arena | Nationwide Arena | Pengrowth Saddledome | Pepsi Center | Rexall Place | Scottrade Center | Staples Center | United Center | Xcel Energy Center | |
| Current arenas in the Women's National Basketball Association | ||
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Bobcats Arena | Conseco Fieldhouse | Madison Square Garden | Mohegan Sun Arena | Palace of Auburn Hills | UIC Pavilion | Verizon Center | ARCO Arena | AT&T Center | KeyArena | Staples Center | Target Center | Toyota Center | US Airways Center | |
| Current Basketball Arenas in the Big East |
|---|
| Allstate Arena (DePaul men) • Bradley Center (Marquette men) • Carnesecca Arena (St. John's) • Carrier Dome (Syracuse) • Continental Airlines Arena (Seton Hall men) • DePaul Athletic Center (DePaul women) • Dunkin' Donuts Center (Providence) • Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati) • Freedom Hall (Louisville) • Gampel Pavilion (Connecticut) • Hartford Civic Center (Connecticut) • Joyce Center (Notre Dame) • Louis Brown Athletic Center (Rutgers) • Madison Square Garden (St. John's men) • McDonough Gymnasium (Georgetown women) • McGuire Center (Marquette women) • The Pavilion (Villanova) • Petersen Events Center (University of Pittsburgh) • USF Sun Dome (South Florida) • Verizon Center (Georgetown men) • Wachovia Center (Villanova) • Walsh Gymnasium (Seton Hall women) • WVU Coliseum (West Virginia) |
Categories: Big East Conference | Indoor arenas in the United States | College basketball venues | Basketball venues in the United States | Georgetown Hoyas basketball | Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States | Sports venues in Washington, D.C. | 1997 establishments | Washington, D.C. culture | Washington Capitals | Verizon | National Hockey League venues | National Basketball Association venues | Washington Mystics | Washington Wizards | Professional wrestling venues | ACC Men's Basketball Tournament Venues | NCAA Men's Frozen Four venues | NBA All-Star Game Venues
