On Tuesday, news surfaced that Capital One registered more than 50 domain names (such as CapitalOneCenterDC.com and Capital1ArenaDC.com), suggesting the bank would be taking over the naming rights of Verizon Center next year.
Wednesday afternoon, 106.7 The Fan contributor Thom Loverro confirmed the news that Leonsis and Capital One have struck a deal.
Capital One will be the new naming rights sponsor for Verizon Center, @thomloverro confirms. pic.twitter.com/U5VDC58Dt2
— 106.7 The Fan (@1067theFan) August 2, 2017
The name of the arena is still unknown, but it seems likely, after taking a closer look at the registered domain names, that it will be either the Capital One Center or Capital One Arena.
cap1-arena.com
cap1-center.com
cap1arena.com
cap1arenadc.com
cap1arenaevents.com
cap1arenatickets.com
cap1center.com
cap1centerdc.com
cap1centerevents.com
cap1centertickets.com
cap1dcarena.com
cap1dccenter.com
cap1events.com
cap1tickets.com
capital1-arena.com
capital1-center.com
capital1arena.com
capital1arenadc.com
capital1arenaevents.com
capital1arenatickets.com
capital1center.com
capital1centerdc.com
capital1centerevents.com
capital1centertickets.com
capital1dcarena.com
capital1dccenter.com
capital1events.com
capital1tickets.com
capitalone-arena.com
capitalone-center.com
capitalonearenadc.com
capitalonearenaevents.com
capitalonearenatickets.com
capitalonecenterdc.com
capitalonecenterevents.com
capitalonecentertickets.com
capitalonedcarena.com
capitalonedccenter.com
capitaloneevents.com
capitalonetickets.com
capone-arena.com
capone-center.com
caponearena.com
caponearenadc.com
caponearenaevents.com
caponearenatickets.com
caponecenter.com
caponecenterdc.com
caponecenterevents.com
caponecentertickets.com
caponedcarena.com
caponedccenter.com
caponeevents.com
caponetickets.com
Capital One also recently earned approval to build a huge new shopping and events area in Tyson’s Corner. Via the Fairfax County government website, the project is currently being referred to as Capital One Center.
The 125,000 square-foot Capital One Center is a key amenity specifically called out in the plan to remake Tysons into Fairfax County’s urban downtown. The mixed-use facility will be developed primarily to support the bank’s trainings/meetings, and it includes a 1,500-seat auditorium, 225-seat black box theater and two classrooms, which will offer a state-of-the-art main hall with orchestra pit, a fly system, dressing rooms and lighting, sound and rigging systems. It will be capable of hosting everything from Capital One’s corporate events to publicly-accessible performing arts events, such as symphonies, local arts exhibits and school graduations.
The Capitals’ home arena was originally known as the MCI Center when it opened in 1997. It was renamed Verizon Center in 2006 after Verizon acquired MCI.
Leonsis discussed why the naming rights negotiation will be a big deal on a Forbes podcast last month. “The city has blossomed,” Leonsis said. “The media reach for the teams, and we now own six teams, and DC has become one of the great vibrant communities.”
Capital One Founder and CEO Richard Fairbank is a partner in Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Capitals, Verizon Center, and several other pieces of the DC sports market. Capital One has been an official sponsor of the teams that play in Verizon Center in the past, with its logo featured on the ice at Capitals games and on giveaways such as bobbleheads and rally towels.
Guess we might see something like this in a year or so… #caps #NHL pic.twitter.com/WweF2vuZNu
— Frozen Faceoff (@FrozenFaceoff) August 2, 2017
Headline photo: Monumental Network
