Maybe Ted Leonsis was on to something when he hinted at a possible move from Verizon Center last November.
Friday night, a WNBA game between the Washington Mystics and the Connecticut Sun was postponed due to rain. The Verizon Center roof leaked water onto the court, causing slippery conditions that could not be overcome.
A rare summer nor’easter is drenching the East Coast with rain, causing the wettest day in DC since 2015.
Latest radar, heavy rain where you see orange and red. Continues overnight. Updates to tomorrow at 11. Stay safe! pic.twitter.com/CY2PXN0hxB
— Amelia Draper (@amelia_draper) July 29, 2017
The entire DC area is under a flood watch and many counties have been under flash flood warnings throughout the day.
Appears to be a "rain delay" @ mystics game. Roof leaking. My fiance is a light board op @ VC, sent this pic. @amelia_draper @carolmaloney4 pic.twitter.com/K9L12ixdyH
— Mike Wolffe (@VAMikeW86) July 28, 2017
The slippery court conditions were first noticed during warmups causing a delay at game time.
It's raining at @WashMystics game #mysticssun basketball rain delay pic.twitter.com/qIqPBzteeW
— Britt Waters (@ItsBrittWaters) July 28, 2017
According to the Washington Post’s Ava Wallace, the Verizon Center maintenance crew put tarps up against the roof to try and stop the leak.
They put tarps up against the roof and went out on the floor and it was still wet so…. yeah. Delle Donne apologizing to the crowd.
— Ava Wallace (@avarwallace) July 28, 2017
The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell has more.
Officials thought they had the initial leak under control after they put down a tarp to catch the water and draped towels over the scoreboard. However, water was actually coming off the scoreboard and onto the court. The scoreboard was then lowered, and a crew went inside to inspect the leak, which caused the start of the game to be postponed.
Players came back onto the court and started to warm up, but five minutes later, they started pointing at the scoreboard, where the leak had returned. At that point, officials decided to postpone the contest.
Out of precaution for player safety, tonight’s Mystics game has been postponed. The game will be rescheduled for a later date. All tickets will be good for the makeup date or a future regular season game of your choice.
Fans, please hold on to your 7/28 game tickets. You may redeem them for this game’s rescheduled date (TBD) or a future regular season Mystics game of your choice. To redeem tickets, please visit the Verizon Center Box Office during normal operation hours (see below). Or you may bring your ticket stub to the box office the day-of a Mysticsregularr season game to exchange for a ticket of equal value based on availability,
To redeem your tickets, please visit Verizon Center Box Office during normal operation hours (see below), or you may bring your ticket stub to the box office the day-of a Mystics regular season game to exchange for a ticket of equal value based on availability,
Elena Delle Donne announced the news to the Verizon Center crowd and apologized for the inconvenience.
On her Twitter account later, she asked if any fans wanted to go to dinner with her.
Well… game postponed: who wants to go to dinner?!
— Elena Delle Donne (@De11eDonne) July 29, 2017
Earlier in the night, the Washington Nationals had their game postponed against the Rockies, though obviously that’s less weird because they play outdoors.
The Washington Capitals have had several home games at Verizon Center postponed over the years, but it’s usually due to winter weather, keeping players and fans from downtown.
Washington #DCA 3.31" rain new record for date#dcwx #climate
— Capital Climate (@capital_climate) July 29, 2017
In a podcast with Forbes earlier this month, Leonsis cited the roof as one of the things that must be fixed.
“We’ve been investing in the building,” Leonsis said. “I think I’ve spent 100 million since I’ve owned the team. Next year we’ll redo the seats. We have to redo the roof.”
Headline photo: @VAMikeW86
Share On