Capital One Arena

Pick this, skip that: Capital One Arena in brief

At Capital One Arena, the premium seats are the center sections of the 100 level, and the value seats are the low rows of the center 400 level. For a Washington Capitals game, the end in front of sections 105 and 106 is where the home team shoots twice. The seats to skip are rows 2 through 7 directly behind the hockey glass and the top rows of the upper corners.

The building stands on F Street NW in downtown Washington, D.C., on the line between Chinatown and Penn Quarter, and has been open since December 2, 1997. Three teams call it home: the Capitals of the NHL, the Washington Wizards of the NBA and the Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball program. Concerts, wrestling cards and family shows fill the rest of the calendar. Basketball seating tops out at 20,356, hockey at 18,573.

Section numbers and where the benches are

There are three public levels, and the numbering skips from the 200s straight to the 400s because suites fill the floors in between. Section ranges here match across seat-view databases such as A View From My Seat and seating guides such as TickPick.

• 100 level (sections 100 to 121): the lower bowl. Section 100 is at center on one sideline; the numbers wrap around so that 110 to 112 are at center on the far sideline, with the ends at about 105 and 106 and 116 and 117. Floor and ice-level seats carry names such as Box and Gold.
• 200 level (sections 200 to 229): the club ring, with padded seats and club concessions. The Acela Club, a reservation-based dining area, runs between sections 200 and 205.
• 400 level (sections 400 to 433): the upper bowl. Center sections include 400, 401, 433 and 416 to 418.

For hockey, TickPick's chart shows the home bench straddling sections 121 and 100, the visiting bench straddling 100 and 101, and the penalty boxes on the opposite side by section 111. That puts section 100 and its neighbors at center ice, right behind both benches.

Choosing seats for a Capitals game

• Center ice (100, 101, 110 to 112, 121): the full-ice view, with both benches in sight from the 100 side.
• The attack end (105 and 106): the Capitals shoot twice at this net, so you see the home team on offense for two of three periods.
• Low rows of the center 400s: the value pick. From here you can watch plays build and line changes happen, and prices usually fall sharply compared with the lower bowl. These beat lower-bowl corner seats for following the whole game.
• Row 1 on the glass: if you want the up-close experience, the very front row is the one to buy, not the rows just behind it.

Demand rises for weekend games, rivalry dates and playoff runs. The arena's history adds to that pull: Washington won both of its home games here, Games 3 and 4, in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final on the way to the club's first title.

Basketball and concert choices

Wizards and Georgetown

The same center sections carry the premium for basketball, and lower-bowl corner sections are the sensible middle ground. Basketball sightlines are shorter than hockey's, so the 200-level club seats on the sides feel surprisingly close, and the center 400s still give a clear view of the whole court.

Concerts and shows

An end-stage concert (the stage set at one end of the floor) removes or restricts the sections behind it. Your strongest reserved choices are the 100-level side sections nearest the stage and the club seats on the sides. The floor gets you closest, but a flat floor means your view depends on the people in front of you.

Glass, boxes and corners: seats to reconsider

• Rows 2 through 7 behind the glass: TickPick notes that the glass bends and breaks up the view at this height. Either sit in row 1 for the experience or move up for the view.
• Rows straight behind the penalty boxes in section 111: the aisle seats beside the boxes are a fun close-up, but the rows behind look through extra glass and bodies.
• Behind-the-stage seats at concerts: buy only when the listing clearly says side or rear view.
• Top rows of the 400-level corners: distant and angled. A low row in a center 400 section is nearly always the better use of the money.

Every Reserved Seat order includes free shipping.

The no-bag rule, explained

As of fall 2026, Capital One Arena does not allow bags, backpacks or purses. You may carry a wallet-size clutch up to 4 by 6 inches. Medical bags and parenting bags up to 14 by 14 by 6 inches are allowed after screening, and guests carrying them should use the entrance at 6th and F Streets. Read the arena policies page before you go, since rules change.

• Food and drink: no outside food or beverages, though each guest may bring one empty plastic water bottle.
• Smoking and vaping: not allowed inside; smokers must be outdoors and at least 25 feet from the building.
• Construction: a phased renovation is expected to finish around the 2027–28 seasons, so entrances, concourses and clubs can shift from season to season. Check the event's arrival information before you leave.

Riding Metro, and watching the last train

Metro is the obvious way in. The Gallery Place–Chinatown station (Red, Green and Yellow lines) opens right beneath the building, and three other stations, Judiciary Square, Metro Center and Archives–Navy Memorial–Penn Quarter, are within a few blocks. Flying into Reagan National? The Yellow Line runs straight from the airport to Gallery Place.

The catch is closing time. The arena's 2026 listing shows trains stopping at 11:30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, at 1 a.m. after Friday and Saturday events, and at 11 p.m. on Sundays. Overtime on a Tuesday or an encore-heavy concert can push you right up against the final train, so confirm the schedule with WMATA on the day.

Drivers can use the arena's garage or, as of 2026, book a space nearby through partner SpotHero. Garages fill fast on game nights and rush-hour traffic in Penn Quarter is slow, so reserve ahead and expect rates to vary by event. For rideshare, get a few blocks clear of the arena before you open the app. The arena's directions and parking page has current details.

Background: MCI Center, Verizon Center and the stay-in-D.C. deal

Ground was broken in October 1995, and the roughly 260 million dollar arena opened two years later, drawing the Capitals and the franchise now known as the Wizards downtown from their old arena in Landover, Maryland. MCI held the naming rights through 2006, Verizon through 2017, and Capital One since then. For two decades, 1998 through 2018, the WNBA's Washington Mystics were tenants too.

The building's future was briefly in doubt. In December 2023, Monumental Sports and Entertainment unveiled a proposal to build a replacement arena across the river in Alexandria, Virginia. The proposal fell apart within months, and in March 2024 Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a deal that holds both teams in the District until at least 2050, backed by 515 million dollars of District money for the current renovation.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Capital One Arena
• Capital One Arena – Arena Policies
• Capital One Arena – Directions and Parking
• Capital One Arena – Arena Info
• TickPick – Washington Capitals seating chart
• A View From My Seat – Capital One Arena sections
• Wikipedia – Washington Capitals
• Wikipedia – Gallery Place station