Behold: Verizon Center

Welcome to the Verizon Center, the home of the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards and Georgetown Hoyas since 1997.

The spacious facility takes up a whopping 1,020,000 square feet, which makes it larger than the plot of land on which Staples Center sits. The Wizards have a practice court on site, though the Capitals’ team facility is located at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in nearby Arlington, Virginia.

The arena is located in Washington’s Chinatown neighborhood, and a sign hanging from the exterior has branding in both English and Chinese.

A panoramic view of the arena’s interior:

The Capitals’ original home was the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland. The first Washington Capitals home game was played against the Los Angeles Kings on October 15, 1974, and ended in a 1-1 tie. While the Kings’ record of 42–17–21 that season represented the high water mark of the franchise to that point, the Capitals would go on to post a 8–67–5 record with an NHL all-time low .131 winning percentage and didn’t win one road game until they beat the California Golden Seals in Oakland on the 76th game of the season.

Colloquially known as the Cap Centre, the building was known for having a black ceiling, black walls, and one of the earliest videoboards in the National Hockey League.

The Verizon Center has a much brighter interior.

In addition to the banners commemorating one Eastern Conference Championship, one Presidents’ Trophy and eight division titles are banners honoring the retired jerseys of Rod Langway (5), Yvon Labre (7), Mike Gartner (11) and Dale Hunter (32).