Verizon Center

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Verizon Center

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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 [1]. The arena has been nicknamed the "Phone Booth" because of its association with telecommunications companies.

[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 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.