“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but we brought the cup home!” – Tom Wilson, 2018 Stanley Cup Championship Parade
Arena: Capital One Arena (1997)
Location: Chinatown, Washington D.C.
Game Attended: November 9, 2019 vs. Vegas Golden Knights
Game Result: 5-2 Capitals Win and we got to Unleash the Fury!
Seat Location: 400 Level, Capitals 2x End
Overall Impression: Somewhat Plain Arena, but Great Fans & Neighborhood
I’ve seen a lot of great games and great arenas in the first half of the Tour de NHL, but when I look back in a couple of years, I think my trip to Washington will come out as one of my fondest memories from the journey. It was a game months in the making, and believe it or not, this episode started back in Charlotte in June.
While waiting for a flight to visit friends in Philadelphia, I ran into fellow Elon University tour guide and diehard Capitals fan Ty at the airport, and long story short, got him on-board for the Capitals episode of the Tour whenever that happened. And when this season’s schedule revealed a Veterans’ Day weekend rematch of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals against Vegas, well, you could say we were a little bit excited.
Ok, a lotta bit excited!
Long story short, Ty recruited a SQUAD for this game. Joining us were fellow Elon alums Caroline, Annsley, Drew, and Julia, and Ty’s childhood best friend Matt. Y’all, when I say SQUAD, I mean this group came to PLAY! Tons of energy all night, and we enjoyed a great pregame dinner at Carmine’s Italian Restaurant in Chinatown. Once again, thank you all so much for coming and joining this episode of the Tour!
Another special thanks goes out to Dan Nolan. Dan’s a producer for Monumental Sports (the parent organization of the Capitals), and connected me with the Capitals’ community relations staff, who graciously donated a Lars Eller-autographed puck for my fundraising efforts. Happy to report that our North Carolina neighbors (and fellow Capitals fans) Dave and Deb are helping out with that part of the fundraising! Dan, it was a pleasure to meet you, thanks for all your help, and drinks on me in Charlotte next time you’re down!
This was also a special night for me to celebrate Hockey Fights Cancer month! It was my first game in the month of November since the Tour began last year, and I took an opportunity to pay tribute to my grandmother Leona, whose life journey inspired me to give back with my fundraising efforts. Pretty special to get some positive feedback from the group and from some other nice fans in our section!
Okay, right, this is an arena blog. My bad.
Capital One Arena is located in the heart of downtown D.C and right above a Metro station, so it’s incredibly convenient to get in and out. I loved seeing tons of red jerseys (and some Vegas white and gold) on the Metro well before the game, and every bar and restaurant in the neighborhood looked occupied by at least some Caps fans. Really refreshing and exciting to see the team getting so much hype!
As for the arena itself, the interior of the arena looked nice enough, but not flashy or unique in any way. It actually reminded me a good deal of Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center in that it’s a large, fairly plain arena. The lower concourse was pretty spacious, but the upper level (where we were) seemed much smaller and a bit more crammed. Not to mention the expensive concessions (and expensive everything) in D.C.
Like other arenas in large cities (MSG, Wells Fargo Center, TD Garden, etc.), the Capitals share Capital One Arena with the NBA’s Wizards, AFL’s Washington Valor, and NCAA’s Georgetown Hoyas, so there wasn’t a distinctive Capitals theme to the building like some other arenas I’ve been to (Nashville, Winnipeg, Minnesota). But, the Capitals did have a couple of displays worth noting: a hat trick case filled with hats, and a display of all the Capitals’ sticks, which is really neat and fascinating to see as a hockey player myself.
And for most of the night, I thought the atmosphere during the game was again just decent. But then we got to the third period, and hoooooooooooooboy did the Capitals fans Unleash the Fury! Easily worth another star on the fan atmosphere ranking below.
So as I traversed back down I-95 towards North Carolina the day after the game, I figured out that Capital One Arena is probably an above-average overall arena experience. The loud fans and great neighborhood made it a really fun evening, and hey, the Caps won! The building itself isn’t a ton to write home about, but that’s okay. Like I said, this game will probably rank high for me for being a great night with some great people!
Tour de National Hockey League 
