The Washington Wizards in the last several years have played their home games in downtown Washington D.C. at the Verizon Center since 2006.
According to Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post, the venue has effectively changed its name to the Capital One Arena after the company has reportedly agreed to a ten-year, $100 million deal:
Washington’s downtown sports arena is changing names, effective immediately. Monumental Sports and Entertainment will make the switch official on Wednesday, announcing that Verizon Center will now be known as Capital One Arena. The signage and branding makeover will happen this fall, but there’s already a new logo and a third name for the Chinatown venue, which opened as the MCI Center in the winter of 1997.
The deal with Verizon was set to expire in 2018, but the involvement from Capital One has changed that entirely. Team owner Ted Leonsis was said to be looking to garner a more team-friendly deal with a company. He was also able to hammer out an investment of $40 million in the arena.
It is currently home to the Washington Capitals in the NHL, the Georgetown University Men's Basketball Team, and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA. It seats more than 20,000 and typically hosts more than 220 concerts, shows, and various events per year. The venue was previously known as the MCI Center prior to Verizon buying the company in 2006.
The new signage is expected to be ready by the fall prior to the start of the season in October.
