A sweeping $800 million overhaul is presently reshaping Capital One Arena across multiple stages, touching everything from player areas and the building's facade to its concourses, food stands, and the broader spectator experience. Once that work wraps up, Washington could find itself in line for some marquee sporting attractions.
Ted Leonsis, who serves as chairman and owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, recently sat down with WTOP's Ben Raby to weigh the prospect of luring the marquee midseason showcases of basketball's and hockey's top leagues to the venue once the renovation wraps. Should the timeline hold, MSE has indicated the closing work will land by mid-2027.
Leonsis said he hopes the franchise would draw consideration for the NBA's signature exhibition once the renovated building is operating, adding that the organization would relish the chance to stage the league showcase on the ice as well.
The capital has never played host to a hockey edition of the showcase. On the one occasion it reached the region, in 1982, Washington's club was still calling Landover, Maryland's Capital Centre home. The District's lone basketball version unfolded at what was then the MCI Center back in 2001, while earlier the Bullets had welcomed the game twice on Maryland soil, in 1969 and 1980.
Plans unveiled earlier outline that Phase 4, billed as significant work both inside and out, is slated for this offseason. The following stage, Phase 5, tackles interior remodeling along with premium amenities and is pegged to unfold over 2026-27, while the closing stage, Phase 6, wrapping up the interior and completing the Grand Pavilion, will arrive in the 2027 offseason. Early renderings of that final phase notably showcased an Alex Ovechkin statue.
On the hockey side, Gary Bettman, who heads the league, has been briefed by Leonsis at each step of construction and offered glowing remarks about the progress during comments he made in January.
Per the commissioner, Leonsis walked him through the finished work as well as the upcoming designs, and he praised the effort as truly spectacular. Bettman stressed that bringing the loop's signature and special occasions to Washington fans, the Capitals, and the organization is something that remains perpetually a live option.
Bettman also noted that any move to award league events to the city, the entry draft included, would come only once the arena's overhaul is done, and that mapping out such major occasions starts no less than 12 months ahead.
That timeline rules out any firm conversations between the sides for now, yet Leonsis plainly wants to draw attention to the extensive upgrades taking shape at the building.
Leonsis argued that putting the revamped building on display after its reopening would serve the team as well as the District, saying the club will raise its hand at the appropriate moment.