The Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland was the beating heart of professional sports in the Washington, D.C. region for nearly three decades, and its story is as much about architecture and business as it is about basketball and hockey.
Built by sports entrepreneur Abe Pollin and opened on December 2, 1973, the arena went on to introduce industry-wide innovations that changed how every indoor arena built afterward was designed, financed, and operated. This guide covers the full history: how it was built, the championship runs it hosted, the name changes that still confuse searchers today, the technology it pioneered, its life as a concert and event venue, and exactly how and when it closed.
Quick Answer
The Capital Centre was an indoor arena at 1 Harry S. Truman Drive in Landover, Maryland, about 10 miles east of downtown Washington, D.C. Built by Abe Pollin for $18 million, it opened December 2, 1973, and served as the home of the NBA’s Washington Bullets (later Wizards) and NHL’s Washington Capitals until both teams moved to the new MCI Center in downtown D.C. in December 1997.
The venue continued hosting concerts and other events under the names USAir Arena and US Airways Arena before closing for good on March 23, 2002, and being demolished on December 15, 2002.
Abe Pollin’s Vision: Building the Capital Centre
The Capital Centre was the brainchild of Abe Pollin, who owned both the Washington Bullets basketball franchise and the Washington Capitals hockey team and wanted a single, modern building for both. Pollin announced the $18 million project in 1972 and broke ground on August 24, 1972. Designed by the Shaver Partnership, with structural engineering by Geiger-Berger Associates, and built by George Hyman Construction Co., the arena rose in just 15 months.
It opened December 2, 1973, with the Bullets defeating the Seattle SuperSonics 98-96 in front of a sellout crowd. Original capacity was 19,035 for basketball (later reduced to 18,756 after 1989 renovations) and 18,130 for hockey. By putting both franchises under one roof in suburban Prince George’s County, Pollin created the region’s singular sports and entertainment destination and controlled the economics of every event in the building.
The Washington Bullets & Georgetown Hoyas: Championships and Classics
For the Washington Bullets, the Capital Centre was the stage for the franchise’s greatest moments. It hosted three NBA Finals: in 1975 the Bullets were swept by the Golden State Warriors; in 1978 they won Games 2 and 6 at home on their way to beating the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games for Washington’s first major professional sports championship, with Wes Unseld named Finals MVP; and in 1979 they returned to the Finals but lost to Seattle in five games. The arena also hosted the 1980 NBA All-Star Game.
Georgetown University’s Hoyas made the Capital Centre their home floor starting December 5, 1981, beating San Diego State 71-53 in their debut, and played there through the Patrick Ewing championship era until their final game on November 25, 1997.
The Final Games: How the Capitals and Wizards Left Landover
The Washington Capitals shared the building from its 1974 expansion season and hosted the 1982 NHL All-Star Game, giving the Cap Center the rare distinction of hosting All-Star events for two different major professional leagues.
The Capitals’ own farewell came on November 26, 1997, when Rod Langway’s No. 5 was raised to the rafters before a sellout crowd of 18,130 watched Washington fall 6-5 to the Montreal Canadiens in the last NHL game ever played in Landover. Three nights later, on November 29, 1997, the Wizards closed out the building’s tenure as an NBA home with an 88-83 loss to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, ending 20 seasons of Washington pro basketball at the Cap Center.
Name Changes: From Cap Center to US Airways Arena
The arena operated as the Capital Centre for its first two decades. In 1993 regional carrier USAir bought the naming rights, and the building became USAir Arena, a change that was initially unpopular with longtime fans who had grown up calling it the Cap Center. When USAir rebranded as US Airways in 1996, the name changed again to US Airways Arena.
After the Wizards and Capitals moved into the brand-new MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) in downtown Washington in December 1997, US Airways let its naming-rights deal lapse, and the building reverted to Capital Centre for its final years. That is why searches for ‘US Airways Arena Landover,’ ‘USAir Arena,’ and ‘Capital Centre Landover MD’ all point to the exact same building at 1 Harry S. Truman Drive.
Arena Firsts: Innovations That Set the Industry Standard
The Capital Centre was also a technological pioneer. It was the first U.S. indoor arena with a center-hung video replay scoreboard, a four-sided projection system known as the ‘Telscreen,’ which predated Dodger Stadium’s famous DiamondVision by about seven years and quickly became standard across North American arenas.
It was the first arena built with luxury suites, permanently changing how sports venues generate revenue, and it was among the first to use a computerized turnstile system for ticketing. Together these innovations made the Capital Centre a genuine blueprint for the modern American arena.
Concerts and Legendary Shows
The Cap Center was also one of the premier concert venues on the East Coast for a quarter century. Its first concert came just two days after opening, when the Allman Brothers Band played on December 4, 1973; The Who followed on December 6, 1973, debuting their rock opera Quadrophenia. Led Zeppelin sold out every show it ever booked there, starting February 10, 1975, and returning for four straight sold-out nights in May 1977.
Elvis Presley played two sold-out shows on June 27, 1976, drawing nearly 38,000 fans combined, and Michael Jackson brought the Bad Tour to Landover for four sold-out nights. The building’s very last concert was Aerosmith’s Nine Lives Tour stop on January 3, 1998, a little more than a month after the Wizards and Capitals had departed.
Boxing, Wrestling & Presidential History
The Capital Centre hosted far more than basketball, hockey, and rock shows. Muhammad Ali defended his heavyweight title there twice, beating Jimmy Young on April 30, 1976, and Alfredo Evangelista on May 16, 1977. Professional wrestling was a regular fixture, with the WWF running events throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, including Survivor Series 1995, and WCW holding events there in 1989.
The arena even played host to national politics: President Reagan’s second inaugural celebration was moved indoors to the Cap Center on January 21, 1985, after record cold canceled the outdoor ceremony, and Bill Clinton’s 42nd Presidential Inaugural Gala was held there on January 19, 1993, featuring a reunited Fleetwood Mac.
Closing, Demolition & What’s There Today
After its main tenants left, the arena kept operating for other bookings until it closed permanently on March 23, 2002. It was imploded on December 15, 2002, by Controlled Demolition, Inc., clearing the 1 Harry S. Truman Drive site for redevelopment.
A shopping center called The Boulevard at the Capital Centre opened on the site in 2003, but that mall was itself demolished in 2019 to make way for a hospital and mixed-use redevelopment of the property. As recently as October 2024, Maryland highway crews removed the last physical trace of the arena’s public identity — a decades-old freeway sign still pointing drivers toward ‘USAir Arena’ — while updating nearby signage for the football stadium once known as FedExField and now renamed Northwest Stadium. More than two decades after the wrecking crews arrived, the Capital Centre’s name still outlives its walls.
Capital Centre Landover arena history FAQs
Is the Capital Centre the same building as USAir Arena and US Airways Arena?
Yes. All three names refer to the same arena at 1 Harry S. Truman Drive in Landover, Maryland. It was Capital Centre from 1973-1993, USAir Arena from 1993-1996, US Airways Arena from 1996-1997, then reverted to Capital Centre from 1997 until it closed in 2002.
Where exactly was the Capital Centre located?
It stood at 1 Harry S. Truman Drive in Landover, Maryland, in Prince George’s County, about 10 miles east of downtown Washington, D.C., and less than a mile from the stadium now known as Northwest Stadium.
When did the Capital Centre close and get demolished?
The arena closed for good on March 23, 2002, after its main tenants had already left in 1997, and it was imploded by Controlled Demolition, Inc. on December 15, 2002.
What replaced the Capital Centre?
A shopping center called The Boulevard at the Capital Centre opened on the site in 2003. That mall was later demolished in 2019 to make way for a hospital and mixed-use redevelopment of the property.
What teams played at the Capital Centre?
The Capital Centre was the home of the NBA’s Washington Bullets (renamed the Wizards in 1997), the NHL’s Washington Capitals, and Georgetown University’s Hoyas men’s basketball team from 1981 to 1997.
What was the Telscreen at the Capital Centre?
The Telscreen was the Capital Centre’s four-sided, center-hung video replay scoreboard, the first of its kind in a U.S. indoor arena. It debuted in 1973, about seven years before Dodger Stadium’s better-known DiamondVision, and its concept became standard in arenas nationwide.
Who played the last concert at the Capital Centre?
Aerosmith played the arena’s final concert on January 3, 1998, as part of their Nine Lives Tour, just over a month after the Wizards and Capitals had moved to the MCI Center.
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