A quick look inside the Verizon Center ...
Opened: December 1997
Cost: $260 million
Seating Capacity: 20,278
Architect: Ellerbe Becket
The Ultimate Fighting Championship visits the nation’s capital for the first time, when UFC Live 6 descends upon the Verizon Center this Saturday in Washington, D.C. In the main event, UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will put his 135-pound crown and nine-fight winning streak on the line against AMC Pankration standout Demetrious Johnson. Not since UFC 75 in 2007 has a promotional title been defended at a non-pay-per-view event. UFC Live 6 will air live on the Versus network.
Formerly the MCI Center, the Verizon Center is located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Chinatown in downtown Washington, D.C. Owned by Monumental Sports and Entertainment, it was built entirely with private funds raised by Abe Polan, late owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics and the NHL’s Washington Capitals. The Verizon Center opened in December 1997 at a cost of $260 million and was designed by Ellerbe Beckett, a Minnesota-based architectural firm also responsible for the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.; the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.; Turner Field in Atlanta; and the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
More than 100 luxury suites are housed within the Verizon Center, along with a high-definition center-hung scoreboard, an indoor practice facility for basketball and 10 dressing rooms. The Verizon Center offers patrons a variety of concession stand and restaurant choices, from Papa John’s pizza to Dunkin Donuts. Clyde’s, Tony Cheng’s Mongolian and Seafood Restaurant, Matchbox, District Chop House and Brewery and Carmine’s are all within walking distance of the arena.
The Verizon Center -- which also serves as the home of the Georgetown University men’s basketball team -- is familiar to major sporting events. It has hosted the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (1998, 2002, 2006 and 2008) and the 2001 NBA All-Star Game. On June 11, 2005, it was the site of former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson’s final bout, as he succumbed to a sixth-round technical knockout against Kevin McBride.
The 53rd Annual Washington International Horse Show (Oct. 25-30), the Jay-Z and Kanye West “Watch the Throne” Tour (Nov. 3) and Cirque du Soleil Quidam (Nov. 16-20) will follow the UFC into the Verizon Center.