The Capital Centre (also briefly known as US Airways Arena and USAir Arena) was an indoor arena located in Largo, Landover, Maryland; a suburb of Washington, D.C. Completed in 1973, the arena sat 18,756 for basketball and 18,130 for hockey. It was renamed for corporate sponsor US Airways in 1993, but reverted back to its original name of Capital Centre after the airline dropped its naming rights. The venue's name is also sometimes written as Capitol Center. The venue closed in 1997 and was demolished in 2002.
As a sports venue
The arena was the home of the Washington Bullets of the NBA from 1973–97, the Washington Capitals of the NHL from 1974–97 and the Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team from 1981–97. The Washington Wizards were known as the Bullets until 1997, and played the first 5 games of the 1997–98 NBA season at the old arena. All three teams departed for the MCI Center (now Verizon Center) just north of The Mall in D.C. when it opened on December 2, 1997. The Capital Centre hosted its first NBA game exactly 24 years earlier on December 2, 1973, with the home team defeating the same visiting team, the Seattle SuperSonics. During November 1973, the Capital Bullets held their home games at nearby Cole Field House on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park.
In 1978 and 1979, the arena hosted games of the NBA Finals, when the Bullets played the Seattle SuperSonics.
Both volumes of the Kiss retrospective DVDs "Kissology" have included bonus DVDs of late-1970s shows taped at the Capital Centre. Performances by Van Halen and Blue Öyster Cult at the venue have also been released. A recording of The New Barbarians' concert May 5, 1979, during the band's only ever concert tour, was released on Buried Alive: Live in Maryland.
The videodocumentaryHeavy Metal Parking Lot was created by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn in 1986 in the venue's parking lot. It documents the heavy metal fans waiting on May 31, 1986 for a Judas Priest concert (with special guests Dokken). Footage of past Washington Bullets games held at the Capital Centre were used in the 1979 movie, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. The parking lot itself was divided into four sections patriotic emblems to aid patrons in remembering where they parked after the event: Liberty Bell, Capitol, Eagle, and Flag.
The Capital Centre was the first indoor arena to have a video replay screen on its center-hung scoreboard. The four-sided video screen was known as the "Telscreen" (or "Telescreen") and predated the DiamondVision video screen at Dodger Stadium by seven years. It was also the first arena to be built with luxury boxes and a computerized turnstile system.
The Centre also had one of the NBA's most notorious fans, Robin Ficker, who for twelve seasons sat behind the visiting team's bench and heckled opposing players.
Formerly the Chicago Packers (1961–1962), Chicago Zephyrs (1962–1963), Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973), Capital Bullets (1973–1974), and Washington Bullets (1974–1997)
