DC's Stage for Every Defining Moment

"Growing up in DC gave me the opportunity to enjoy city life. We took for granted venues like the Capital One Arena which has changed names many times. I have gone to multiple concerts here. Great metro access. No parking. Seats 20k. Loved the projectors cor those far away from the stage. The seats can be steep high. Do not buy tickets high up if you are afraid of heights. Food and concessions are expensive. If you buy anything you cannot take it out of the arena. Drink your beer and pther drinks while enjoying the show. Acoustics are wonderful."

"I love this arena. It’s located just on the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stop. The metro makes it super convenient to access this venue. It’s smoke free and has ample restaurants and bars nearby to pregame before your event. I recently attended a Matt Rife comedy show, which was utterly amazing and sold out! This arena is easy to get in and out of. Come here all the time and have never had a bad experience."

"Had a great experience attending the game here. The facilities were clean and the environment in the arena was awesome. I will say the staff was a little short when asking for direction and struggled with knowing where we should go. The hallways are a tad cramped as well making it hard to maneuver through the corridor."

"We had another fantastic time at the arena for the caps game last night! Thank you to the accessibility department for updating their devices. It worked this time. It was only glitchy a little bit. If you want to use your own headphones, bring the kind with a plug not Bluetooth. They trade the device for your ID. I do wonder why the men restrooms have lines and not the women’s… Food is over priced. Why?"

"I recently visited Capital One Arena to see Florence and the Machine, and I have mixed feelings about the overall experience. First, the concert itself was absolutely phenomenal. Florence Welch and her team were incredible, and the sound quality inside the venue was great. No complaints at all when it comes to the performance or the artist’s VIP experience, which was clearly well thought out and special for fans. Where things fell short was the venue’s security and overall organization, especially when it came to coordinating with the VIP line. I do want to acknowledge that I understand some policies, like wristbands, are set by the artist’s team rather than the venue, so this is not meant to be a complaint about that. For context, some of us with VIP GA arrived as early as 6am to wait. Regular GA began receiving wristbands around 8am, but VIP did not, which initially seemed fine given it was a smaller group. However, as we got closer to doors opening, things became very disorganized. There was clear confusion between security and the VIP check in process. You could tell even the representative from Florence’s team, who was there to help coordinate, seemed stressed with how things were being handled. There were issues with ticket scanning, unclear direction from staff, and a general sense of chaos. The fan line that had organically formed early in the morning was actually very respectful and consistent, but once security began organizing their own lines, people started cutting and shifting around, and it quickly became difficult to manage. Some people who had showed up maybe 30 minutes before doors were getting in before those who had been waiting since 7-8am. It didn’t feel like security had a solid plan in place to handle that transition. There was also confusion around the VIP merchandise bags. Since Capital One Arena has a very strict bag policy, some guests were initially given a hard time about bringing them in, even though they were part of the VIP package. This was eventually addressed, but it added to the overall stress and lack of clarity. All in all, the concert itself was amazing and absolutely worth it. However, the disorganization leading up to entry left a bit of a negative impression. Nothing about the venue itself really stood out in a positive way beyond the sound quality, and I do think there is room for improvement when it comes to handling large events, especially those with VIP experiences."