Next Thursday, the Junks will be headed to Cap One for a Wizards game, hanging in the Hennessey Lofts, watching some hoops ahead of their annual holiday show at MGM National Harbor.
But THIS Thursday, they were joined in studio by Monumental Sports and Entertainment President of Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer Jim Van Stone – who came bearing gifts!
And, of course, an update on what kind of improvements are coming to Cap One, as soon as the final vote happens next week for the half-billion DC is giving MSE to get going.
“Things have been exciting for us, and thanks to the mayor andcthe council and everyone from their support. We're really excited, and we’re gonna build a new Capital One Arena, and everything we're looking at is all about the fan experience,” Van Stone said. “Every single aspect of the building is going to be completely transformed from that standpoint.”
This will be a three-year process with ‘ground breaking’ hopefully this summer, and phase one will be ‘all about the event level and the technology centers.’
“At the end of the project, everything will be completely brand new and something that the city and the community will be really proud of,” Van Stone said. “We're gonna transform the entire exterior, it's not gonna look anything like what we have now; we’re looking at new entrances into the building, and expanding the footprint with us expanding into a portion of the Gallery Place – it allows us to really do transformational things in the building. We’re moving a lot of back of house spots to the old Bed, Bath and Beyond which was on the basement level, and that’s really opening up a lot of the footprint on the event floor, and every level of the building is gonna look completely new and different.”
For example, Van Stone expects to increase to “16 to 18” clubs and lounges, nearly triple the current number, to create more social spaces where ‘every fan coming into the building feels like a premium seat holder.’
“We have one of the busiest buildings in the country with four main tenants with the Caps and Wizards, Georgetown University, and really the Mystics, so I think we've got a unique opportunity here,” Van Stone said. “These clubs and lounges and destination spots inside the arena are really going to be important for the fans, and I think the mayor has an incredible vision, along with the council, of really connecting the National Mall through the Convention Center and revitalizing downtown DC. I think we’re going to see a lot more transformation in terms of new restaurants, bars, experiences, really revitalizing that community and iconic real estate.”
Take a listen to Van Stone’s entire visit with more on the coming renovations!