The Capital Center Story
The Capital Centre, which opened in 1973 and closed in 1999, holds many special memories for those who had the chance to attend the many sports and concert events held in the arena.
Abe Pollin (1923-2009) headed the Washington Capitals and was the team’s owner from its inception in 1974 thorough 1999, when he sold the franchise. He also owned the Washington Bullets/Wizards and Washington Mystics, and both the Bullets and Capitals played at the Capital Centre. In his office, Abe Pollin kept displayed an inspirational passage from Theodore Roosevelt.
The Man in the Arena
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
—Theodore Roosevelt
Opening of the Capital Centre
The Capital Centre (also known as US Airways Arena and USAir Arena) was an indoor arena located in Landover, Maryland, a suburb east of Washington, D.C.
Costing $18 million, the arena was an architectural marvel when the Washington Wizards’ majority owner, Abe Pollin, opened it for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Washington Bullets (later renamed Wizards) of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Dec. 2, 1973. The architect was Shaver Partnership.
Events at the Arena
In addition to basketball and hockey events, the Capital Centre also hosted the boxing World Heavyweight Championship with Muhammad Ali, and also hosted many concerts, including performers Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, REM, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, the Grateful Dead, and the Rolling Stones.
Dedicated to the Capital Centre
During the many years of operation, Abe and Irene Pollin were committed to the Capital Centre’s excellence in providing exceptional experiences and long lasting memories for all who visited.
