Verizon Center - Washington, DC - Professional Sports Venues on Waymarking.com

"The Verizon Center (formerly MCI Center) is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C., USA, named after telecommunications sponsor Verizon Communications. The arena has been nicknamed the "Phone Booth" because of its association with telecommunications companies. The arena is home to the Washington Capitals of the NHL, Washington Wizards of the NBA, Georgetown University men's basketball, and Washington Mystics of the WNBA. It is located in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington.

The arena opened as the MCI Center on December 2, 1997 in downtown Washington's Chinatown. When Verizon bought out MCI in 2006, the arena's name was changed accordingly. 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." (visit link)

It's the home of which team(s)?: Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, Washington Mystics Which professional sports are played here?: Basketball and hockey Capacity (number of seats): 20,173 Opening Date: 12/02/1997 Guided Tours: yes Venue's Website or Team's Website: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
1) Tell how was your visit. Were you at a game, which one? Have you just visited it by the outside, on a guided tour maybe? Are you a fan?

2) Pictures:
- They should be taken by YOU.
- No internet pictures are allowed.
- Upload one photo, at least. It would be great if you'd upload one of the venue and one with you on the photo.
- No need of photos with the GPSr.
- Extra credits for photos inside, with the teams playing.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   09/23/2012 HenriettaHeroes visited it 06/29/2012 C&SL visited it 07/14/2011 garmin_geek visited it 04/23/2011 ahight visited it 07/25/2009 Cameramoose visited it 05/29/2009 saopaulo1 visited it

View all visits/logs