Monumental Sports & Entertainment has unveiled the latest changes fans can expect at Capital One Arena this fall as work on its multiyear, $1 billion transformation continues.
The Downtown D.C. arena hasn’t hosted an event since a concert in mid-April, as part of planned closures tied to the renovation work. And much work remains to be done on the project, scheduled to be finished next fall.
But later this week, the arena is reopening its doors, beginning with two Garth Brooks performances before the sports schedule begins.
The new main arena entrance, on 7th and F streets near the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station, is set to open this week. It features more security equipment and ticket-reading devices, so more people can enter faster.
Fans will “get to spread around the concourse more efficiently,” Jordan Silberman, president of venues for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, said. “It’s not a mixing bowl of elevators and escalators and concession stands and lines. Our goal is to get people from the street to the seat as quickly as we can.”
New security technology, called Xonar, will assist with that process, he said.
New bathrooms are being built and old ones are getting renovated, Silberman said. Elevators have also been updated.
There’s also a temporary box office in the Gallery Place Atrium, at the site that used to be a Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop. A team store is being set up in the old District E space until the permanent location on 7th Street is finished.
Visitors will still find scaffolding and overhead protection structures around the entire building, and that’s expected to remain the case in the months ahead.
“A project of this scale is going to be visible and felt by the fans as they come into the arena,” Silberman said.
Temporary changes to pedestrian routes might also be made, and the new arena entrance closer to the Metro includes an extra vestibule between the street and concourse.
“We recognize there will be some short-term inconvenience,” Silberman said. “But we’re being thoughtful about how we manage it, and we’re trying to communicate early and often to all of our fans coming in.”
For most events this season, arena doors will be open 90 minutes before the scheduled start time. Fans and concertgoers, Silberman said, should allow a few extra minutes to navigate the area.
This year, some entrances, exits, stairwells and concourse areas may change. Some of the 100-level concessions may be relocated, and there will be “temporary impacts” to certain stairs and bathrooms, Silberman said.
“Nothing about this project is easy,” Silberman said. “If we were starting from scratch, it would be completely different, but we don’t have that luxury.”
As part of the project, crews are removing and replacing the current facade with a “modern exterior, and we’re creating what will eventually be a much better overall arrival experience for fans.”
“We believe by this time next year, this building will be one of the best venues in the country to experience sports and entertainment for the next generation of our fans,” Silberman said.
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