What the new Capital One Arena will look like inside
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Communal tables and automated purchasing are coming to Capital One Arena. Courtesy of Monumental Sports & Entertainment.
New renderings preview what Capital One Arena will look like when the company wraps up a three-year renovation next year.
Why it matters: Fans should be able to enter the arena more easily, follow the action from giant video walls, and eat a meal somewhere besides their laps.
🏃 "We want people to get from the street to their seat as quickly as possible," Jim Van Stone, Monumental's president of business operations and chief commercial officer, tells Axios.
Driving the news: Monumental Sports & Entertainment dropped the new images Tuesday while announcing an extension with Capital One for 20 more years of naming rights.
- Van Stone said the "very broad deal" applies to Monumental's venues, sports teams and media properties.
State of play: Construction is on schedule to finish by fall 2027. For the upcoming NBA, NHL and NCAA basketball seasons, get used to scaffolding.
- "This is kind of the pivot year," Van Stone said.
Zoom out: Monumental gained 200,000 new square feet in its deal with D.C. to stay in Penn Quarter instead of fleeing to Virginia.
The expansion absorbs Gallery Place space between 7th Street NW and 6th Street NW, putting the "Beyond" in the old Bed, Bath and Beyond.
- Fan surveys showed people wanted more places to socialize, eat and drink, Van Stone said.
- Next year they'll have a food hall on the Terrace Level that stretches the entire length of the F Street NW side of the building. New escalators will take fans directly there.
- Renderings also show a beer hall, a market equipped with autonomous payment kiosks, and a Center Stage Bar.
The Visibowl, an immersive video wall that Van Stone compares to Cosm's "shared reality" domes, will use more than 50 cameras to make people on the entrance level feel like they're looking directly onto the court, ice or stage.
- "As soon as people enter those entrances, we want them to feel fully connected to what's happening inside," Van Stone said.
🧑🍳 Plus: Instead of three kitchens, the renovated arena will have 14 or 15.
💳 A dedicated entrance for Capital One cardholders will move to F Street and open to events beyond Wizards and Capitals games.
🚽 The number of bathrooms will grow by 30%.
🎟️ A box office moves from F Street to the Gallery Place concourse.
💭 Gabe's thought bubble: The reimagined stadium sounds very cool. But this year, fans might feel like they need to wear hockey helmets inside.
