It's the building where Caps fans rock the red. The Verizon Center has served as the home base for the Washington Capitals since the Clinton administration and supporters have had the opportunity to scream their lungs out as Alex Ovechkin pots goal after goal in D.C. The majesty of the Great 8 has its perks, but fans are still hoping for a Stanley Cup banner to make its way into their rafters in the not too distant future.
Washington Capitals Stadium
The Caps have headed to work at the Verizon Center for nearly two decades now after heading over from the Capital Center. The Verizon Center, a building the team shares with its NBA cousin the Washington Wizards, has seen the Caps as a Stanley Cup bridesmaid but never a titleholder. The closest the Verizon Center came to hosting a Caps Cup victory was Game 4 of the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals where Detroit swept the Caps in front of the Washington crowd. There have been loads of far more cherished memories of course. After all, this is the building where Alexander Ovechkin's racked hundreds and hundreds of lamp lighters.
The Caps are still a hot commodity in Washington. Over the past half-decade, the Capitals have never averaged less than a 95% full building annually. In 2014-15, Washington hockey fans somehow managed to put an average of 19,099 butts into 18,506 seats on a nightly basis. Did the overstuffed arena have any impact on the home record of the Capitals? Not really. The team only earned a single extra win at the Verizon Center versus how they performed on the road.
Arena Vitals
Date Opened: 1997
Construction Cost: $260 Million
Architect: Ellerbe Becket, Devrouax & Purnell, KCF-SHG Architects
Capacity Attendance: 18,506
Has A Stanley Cup Final Been Played There: Yes
Previous Washington Capitals Arenas
Capital Center
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