Capital One Arena high-voltage fan experience

Image: Monumental Sports and Entertainment

The Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s (MSE) Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C., US) announced recently a variety of new elements geared to enhance the fan experience at games and events.

‘MONUMENTAL’ stated that the Aramark Sports + Entertainment, Capital One Arena’s exclusive food and beverage (F&B) partner, collaborated on the above announcement to reveal an updated food and beverage (F&B) lineup appealing to all tastes and featuring several partners from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) Region. Throughout the arena, the guests will also find many additional experiences to enjoy, from new premium seating spaces to exciting displays.

Washington, D.C., (US)-based the Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) is one of the largest integrated sports and entertainment companies in the United States with one of the most diverse partnership groups in all of sports. It is America’s leading sports and entertainment family. The MSE people, the players, the teams, and the events bring excitement and joy to millions. The company invest and innovate to consistently raise the game so that they can deliver extraordinary experiences that will inspire and unite the community, the fans and the people.

The 20,356-capacity Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. (US). Located in the Chinatown section of the larger Penn Quarter neighborhood the arena sits atop the Gallery Place Rapid Transit Station of the Washington Metro. It serves as the home facility of the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Washington Wizards and the National Hockey League (NHL) team Washington Capitals.

Philadelphia (US)-based the Aramark Sports + Entertainment serves more than 150 award-winning food and beverage (F&B), retail and facility service programs in the premier stadiums, arenas, convention centers, cultural attractions, performance venues, and unique entertainment destinations across North America.

‘MONUMENTAL’ quoted Jordan Silberman, President of Venues at MSE, “We strive to ensure the experience for all the fans and visitors at the Capital One Arena are unparalleled starting from the time the fans leave for the event until they arrive home. The guests attending the games, concerts, or any other events this year can expect delicious, creative new food and beverage (F&B) options, updated experiences in the premium spaces and sightlines to the action, and a welcoming atmosphere all season long.”
 

The new updates for the 2024-2025 seasons include:

 

Food and Beverage:

• PhoWheels: PhoWheels will bring modernized Vietnamese street food to Section 105 with menu items like a bahn mi sandwich (chicken, pork belly and beef) with kettle chips, chicken egg rolls and tacos (chicken, pork belly and beef);
• Kong Dog: Known for their delicious handmade corn dogs, Kong Dog will introduce hand dipped all beef specialty dogs that includes Cheeto Dusted dogs as well as popcorn chicken with fries and Kong Fries to Section 106;
• Little Miner Taco: A vender that is already well known to the Capital One Arena, the Little Miner Taco is adding new menu items like street tacos (chicken tinga, beef, or mushroom), bowls (chicken tinga, beef, or mushroom) and street corn to their post in Section 107;
• Astro Donut: Astro Donut connects two American classics, chicken and donuts, and is coming to Section 110. The menu items include donuts, a donut chicken sandwich with fries and an asteroid chicken sandwich with fries;
• Fuku: Fuku draws influence from both Asian and American staples and will bring their specialty items to Section 119. The stand will bring exciting options such as chicken tenders and fries that can be ordered both separately and as a meal. Fuku will also feature a spicy chicken sandwich at Section 422;
• Pat and Stuggs: A collaboration between the popular Baltimore restaurant Stuggy’s and Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors (a third generation meat wholesaler based in North Bergen, New Jersey), Pat and Stugg’s will have menu items like a smash burger with tater tots, a shaved ribeye with tater tots and loaded tater tots with cheese, shaved ribeye and scallions at Section 120;
• Jerk at Nite: Enjoy various Caribbean flavors in Section 103 at Jerk at Nite. The menu items include loaded souvenir jerk chicken nacho, loaded souvenir nacho, regular jerk chicken nacho, regular nacho, and jerk wings;
• Tonari: Tonari (a Japanese-inspired Italian restaurant in Washington, D.C.) will be returning to Section 214 with new menu items like cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza and rotating specialty pizzas;
• Little Hot Chicken: Little Hot Chicken will bring the hottest Nashville Hot Chicken in the DMV to the Capital One Arena with their stand in Section 413. They are introducing chicken wings with fries, a Lil Hot chicken sandwich with fries and loaded mac n’ chicken;
• Midnight Treats: The Midnight Cookies, located in Section 408, aims to make vegan eating fun with their delicious cookies. The flavors will include chocolate chip, brownie, birthday bash, and cinnamon bun. The Midnight Cookies will also have cookie sundaes and ice cream cups available; and
• Beeliner Diner: A new kind of old-fashioned diner, the Beeliner Diner (a variety of comfort food and baked goods made from scratch) will be adding chicken and waffles and chicken biscuits to Section 432 this season.

 

Premium Spaces:

• Michelob ULTRA Courtside Lounge Seats: The Wizards and Michelob ULTRA will introduce Capital One Arena’s newest premium seating option, the Michelob ULTRA Courtside Lounge Seats, for the 2024-2025 Wizards season. The Courtside Lounge will feature unique vantage points just steps from the court, plush oversized seats, tabletop seating for all the guests, and access to the Monumental VIP Club for complimentary food, beer, wine, and soft drinks. The seats will be available for purchase on a full or partial season ticket basis, as well as for the individual games, subject to availability; and
• Signature Club and Lounge: After debuting at the end of the 2023-2024 NBA and NHL seasons, the Signature Club and Lounge is the ultimate premium experience at the Capital One Arena and ready to host the fans throughout the upcoming seasons. This stylish and contemporary lounge, situated at the corner of 7th Street and Gallery Place, provides members with early entry and exclusive access prior to the Capitals and Wizards games. The guests can look forward to an exceptional selection of food and beverages (F&Bs) from the José Andrés Group (30+restaurants).

 

Retail:

• Round Up at the Register: During all the Capitals and Wizards home games the fans will have the option to round up at the register at the Team Store at the Capital One Arena with the proceeds benefiting the MSE Foundation (MSEF). The funding will be used to support the local nonprofit partners and the MSEF community programing; and
• New Items: The retail stores within the Capital One Arena will have a wide variety of Capitals 50th anniversary merchandise and all new City Edition products for the Wizards in stock throughout the upcoming season.

 

Other Updates:

• 50th Anniversary Arena Display: Throughout the 2024-2025 seasons, the Capitals fans are invited to visit a 50th Anniversary concourse display at the Section 103 at the Capital One Arena. The display features memorabilia from the last five decades of Capitals hockey, including trophies, jerseys, equipment, and a timeline surrounding the team’s history. The items include Alex Ovechkin’s (captain of the Washington Capitals) skates from the 2015 Winter Classic (an annual outdoor ice hockey game), Dale Hunter’s (former Head Coach of the Washington Capitals) game used gloves, a Peter Bondra (Slovak former ice hockey player) Screaming Eagle jersey, an Olie Kölzig (Player Development Coach of the Capitals) game-used blocker pad and more;
• Harry Benson: Washington DC Iconic Photographs for the Nation’s Capital: For the duration of the 2024-2025 NBA and NHL seasons, the Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Ted and Lynn Leonsis (Ted Leonsis is the head honcho of the MSE) and Jeff Skoll (MSE Partner) will present a landmark exhibit that will showcase over 150 photographs by the legendary photojournalist Harry Benson renowned for his chronicling of culture, politics, music, movies, television and sports through the 20th and 21st centuries. The gallery, produced by Ted Leonsis and Jeff Skoll, will be located next door to the Capital One Arena at 707-709 7th Street NW and will span two floors and over 10,000 square feet. The exhibit, which will be free and open to the public, will feature photographs of every President and First Lady since Dwight Eisenhower (34th President of the United States), iconic photographs of the athletes including Muhammad Ali (American professional boxer and activist), musicians, including a behind-the-scenes look at The Beatles (English rock band) arrival to the United States, a historic chronicling of the civil rights movement in America, and much more;
• NFL Sundays at District E Powered by Ticketmaster: District E Powered by Ticketmaster is the best viewing spot for the National Football League (NFL) during the 2024 season. Located next to the Capital One Arena in the old Bar Louie space, the District E features District Bites, a traditional bar/restaurant as well as a massive event space. Between both the locations, the District E will be able to show every game, every Sunday on the 16 x 9-foot screen in the event space and the dozen TVs in the bar/restaurant. The District E can also stream up to four games in a split screen format on the massive event space screen. The brunch specials will run until 3:30 pm on football Sundays and that menu features $30 bottomless mimosas (cocktail). The District Bites extends the brunch special to Saturday as well and offers happy hour specials of $8 wine and $6 rail drinks. If interested, please visit OpenTable to make reservations; and
• 50/50 Raffle: The MSE Foundation is hosting the popular 50/50 Raffle for all Capitals and Wizards home games. The fans will have the option to purchase tickets online or in-arena at 50/50 raffle kiosks at Sections 106 and 120 or from the roving sellers. The raffle proceeds directly support the MSEF programing and events benefiting the D.C.-area nonprofits and the community partners. The tickets are sold in the following increments during Monday through Thursday games: 10 tickets for $10, 40 tickets for $20, 100 tickets for $40, and 300 tickets for $100. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the MSEF offers the ‘Ovi Special’ during the Capitals games where the fans receive eight free numbers on price points of $20 and above and the ‘Boundary Stone Special’ during the Wizards games where the fans receive 40 free numbers at those same price points.

 

Concerts at Capital One Arena

In addition to serving as the home of the Washington Capitals, the Washington Wizards and Georgetown men’s basketball, the Capital One Arena hosts a wide range of chart-topping concerts, family shows and community events rounding out a robust calendar of live events annually. Averaging 220 events per year, the arena has hosted over 50 million people and nearly 5,000 events since it opened in 1997 making the Capital One Arena the economic heart of Downtown D.C.

In particular, the concert business at the Capital One Arena has never been stronger. In 2023, the Capital One Arena hosted more concerts than any other year in the arena history and the arena is on pace to exceed that total in 2024.

Driving the Capital One Arena’s record numbers are several new concert genres as shows at the Capital One Arena appeal to the diverse audiences across the DMV region:

• The Capital One Arena hosted a record-setting 11 Latin music performances in 2023 in addition to K Pop, R&B (Rhythm and blues, a genre of popular music) comedy, and several other genres;
• Aventura (American bachata group musical band) attracted 46,000+ fans across three nights earlier this year;
• After hosting the TXT (South Korean boy band) last year, the Capital One Arena is hosting four K-pop (Korean pop) concerts in 2024; and
• Diljit Dosanjh (Indian singer and actor) became the first Punjabi artiste to headline Capital One Arena earlier this year.

 
New York (US)-based the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.

New York (US)-based the National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America consisting of 32 teams – 25 in the United States and 7 in Canada.

New York (US)-based the National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.

The Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) Foundation is a charitable organization that supports the community initiatives in the Washington, D.C. area. The MSE Foundation’s mission is to improve the region by providing grants to the nonprofits, fundraising and encouraging the MSE’s fans and teams to support community change.

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