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: the exact address and what stands there today, how the arena was built, the championship runs it hosted, the name changes that still confuse searchers, the technology it pioneered, its life as a concert venue, and exactly how and when it closed.
Quick Answer
The Capital Centre was an indoor sports and concert arena at 1 Harry S. Truman Drive in Landover, Maryland, about 10 miles east of downtown Washington, D.C., just off the Capital Beltway (I-495) at Exit 16. 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 the NHL’s Washington Capitals until both teams moved to the new MCI Center in downtown D.C. in December 1997.
The building 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. The arena no longer exists; the Capital Centre site in Landover, MD is now occupied by later redevelopment of the same 55-acre parcel, as explained below.
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 the franchise’s only NBA title, 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 Centre 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 Centre.
Name Changes: From Cap Centre 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 Centre. 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.
Where Is the Capital Centre Today? Location and What Replaced It
The Capital Centre stood at 1 Harry S. Truman Drive in Landover, within Prince George’s County, near what is now the Largo Town Center Metro station on the Blue and Silver Lines — a connection the building never had in its own lifetime, since it was designed around Beltway car access and opened two years before Metro reached the area.
The arena itself is gone: it was demolished on December 15, 2002, roughly nine months after closing. The Boulevard at the Capital Centre, a ‘main street’-style retail and entertainment center, opened on the same roughly 55-acre site in 2003 with tenants like Borders, Linens ‘n Things, and Men’s Wearhouse. That shopping center closed in 2017 and was itself demolished starting in 2019 to make way for Carillon, a newer mixed-use residential and retail development on the same land. So if you’re searching for ‘Capital Centre Landover MD’ looking for the building itself, it no longer stands — the address today is home to later redevelopment, not the original arena.
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 Centre 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 played sold-out shows there during both their 1975 and 1977 North American tours, and Elvis Presley performed at the Capital Centre on June 27, 1976, one of his final Washington-area appearances before his death the following year. Paul McCartney and Wings, David Bowie, and Elton John also played the venue in its first few years, cementing its reputation as a must-play stop for touring acts. The building’s very last concert came on January 3, 1998, when Aerosmith closed out 25 years of Cap Centre shows just weeks after the Wizards and Capitals had already departed for downtown D.C.
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Capital Centre Landover arena history FAQs
Where exactly was the Capital Centre in Landover, MD?
It stood at 1 Harry S. Truman Drive in Landover, Maryland, in Prince George’s County, just off the Capital Beltway (I-495) at Exit 16, about 10 miles east of downtown Washington, D.C.
Is the Capital Centre still standing?
No. The arena closed on March 23, 2002, and was demolished on December 15, 2002. The site was first redeveloped as the Boulevard at the Capital Centre retail center (2003-2017), which was itself torn down starting in 2019 for the newer Carillon mixed-use development.
What teams played at the Capital Centre?
The NBA’s Washington Bullets (later Wizards) played there from 1973 to 1997, and the NHL’s Washington Capitals played there from 1974 to 1997. Georgetown University’s Hoyas basketball team also called it home from 1981 to 1997.
Why is the Capital Centre also called USAir Arena or US Airways Arena?
USAir bought the naming rights in 1993, renaming it USAir Arena, then US Airways Arena after the airline’s 1996 rebrand. When that deal lapsed in 1997, the building reverted to its original name, Capital Centre, for its final years.
Who built the Capital Centre and why?
Sports entrepreneur Abe Pollin built it for $18 million so his Washington Bullets and Washington Capitals franchises could share a single modern suburban arena. It broke ground in August 1972 and opened in December 1973.
What replaced the Capital Centre after it closed?
The 55-acre site first became the Boulevard at the Capital Centre, a retail and entertainment center that opened in 2003. After that shopping center closed in 2017, it was demolished starting in 2019 for Carillon, a newer mixed-use residential and retail development near the Largo Town Center Metro station.
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