CareFirst Arena Multipurpose arena in Washington, D.C.
CareFirst Arena Exterior of the venue in 2020
Location within the District of Columbia
Show map of the District of Columbia CareFirst Arena (the United States)
Show map of the United States Interactive map of CareFirst Arena
Former names
St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena (planning/construction)
Entertainment and Sports Arena (2018–2025) Address 1100 Oak Drive SE Location Washington, D.C. , U.S.Coordinates 38°50′49.1″N 76°59′29.2″W / 38.846972°N 76.991444°W / 38.846972; -76.991444 Owner District of Columbia Operator Events DC Capacity 4,200
Concerts: 4,119 Basketball: 4,111 Boxing: 4,222 Esports: 4,119 Public transit Broke ground July 17, 2017 Opened September 22, 2018 (2018-09-22 ) Construction cost
$69 million million in 2025 dollars[ 2] Architect Rossetti Architects Marshall Moya Design Group Project manager
Brailsford & Dunlavey Structural engineer
Setty & Associates Services engineer
Wiles Mensch Corporation General contractor
Smoot Construction Main contractors
Gilbane Building Company Capital City Go-Go (NBAGL ) 2018–presentWashington Mystics (WNBA ) 2019–presentOfficial website
CareFirst Arena , formerly known as the Entertainment and Sports Arena , is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. It is located on the St. Elizabeths East Campus in the Congress Heights residential neighborhood. The arena is home to the Washington Mystics of the WNBA and the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League . In addition, it houses a practice facility for the Washington Wizards of the NBA .
The arena opened on September 22, 2018.[ 3] [ 4]
History
The venue circa 2018. Construction for the arena, to include razing of surrounding buildings, began on February 19, 2016.[ 6] Events DC will operate the facility.[ 7]
Members of the DC Council sought to introduce legislation capping public expenditure in the case of cost overruns.[ 8] [ 9] [ 9]
In 2018, O'Dell announced that the cost had increased to $68.8 million, due in part to additions like drywall, and catwalks and higher than anticipated costs like contractors.[ 10] [ 11]
Events DC boasted about the number of local business used in the construction of the facility, but could not provide a list of any of the businesses. Local businesses reported that they were unable to find work at the site.[ 11]
Operations
Events DC significantly underestimated the costs of operating the facility and in 2019 the Events DC board approved more than $1 million in additional costs to cover the shortfall.[ 12] [ 12]
Events
PFL 10 , a mixed martial arts event, was held at the arena on October 20, 2018.Games 1, 2, and 5 of the 2019 WNBA Finals were held at the arena.
The Coastal Athletic Association men's basketball tournament has been held at the arena every year since 2020 (except for 2021), and the conference's women's basketball tournament has been held at the arena since 2024.
All Elite Wrestling 's television series Dynamite Rampage New Japan Pro-Wrestling 's pay-per-view event Capital Collision was held at the arena on May 14, 2022, April 15, 2023, and August 30, 2024.Blast Premier 's Tier-1 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive NXT Vengeance Day was held at the arena on February 15, 2025.USA Basketball hosts Puerto Rico in an AmeriCup Qualifying Game in February 2020 at the arena.
References
↑ "Facilities Guide: Entertainment & Sports Arena" (PDF) . Events DC . May 4, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2019 .↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF) . American Antiquarian Society .McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF) . American Antiquarian Society .Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024 . ↑ Segraves, Mark; Barnes, Sophia (September 22, 2018) [September 18, 2018]. "DC Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southeast Opens" . News4 . Retrieved September 23, 2018 . ↑ Rogers, Winston (February 6, 2025). "DC's Entertainment and Sports Arena gets new name in deal to develop St. Elizabeths campus" . WJLA-TV . Retrieved February 6, 2025 . ↑ "Location - St. Elizabeths ESA" . Retrieved August 1, 2017 .↑ Giambrone, Andrew (February 19, 2016). "Bowser Kicks Off St. Elizabeths Demolition for Wizards' Practice Facility" . Washington City Paper . Retrieved August 1, 2017 . ↑ O'Connell, Jonathan (September 15, 2015). "Bowser outlines details of St. Elizabeths deal" . The Washington Post . Retrieved September 15, 2015 . ↑ O'Connell, Jonathan (March 1, 2016). "D.C. Council member proposes spending cap for Wizards facility" . The Washington Post 1 2 O'Connell, Jonathan (July 28, 2016). "Cost of Wizards practice facility rises $10 million before construction can even begin" . The Washington Post ↑ Giambrone, Andrew (March 1, 2018). "Price Tag of Taxpayer-Funded Wizards Arena Grows to $69 Million" . Washington City Paper 1 2 Baskin, Morgan (January 24, 2019). "Construction Companies Open East-of-the-River Offices to Win Lucrative Contracts" . Washington City Paper . Retrieved January 26, 2019 . 1 2 Cooper, Rebecca (May 15, 2019). "D.C. reconciles true costs of running new arena at St. Elizabeths" . Washington Business Journal . Retrieved May 15, 2019 .
External links
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Eastern
Riverview Health Arena at Innovation Mile (Noblesville, IN )CareFirst Arena (Washington, DC )Chase Fieldhouse (Wilmington, DE )Gateway Center Arena (College Park, GA )Legacy Arena (Birmingham, AL )Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, NY )Novant Health Fieldhouse at the Greensboro Complex (Greensboro, NC )Now Arena (Hoffman Estates, IL )Oshkosh Arena (Oshkosh, WI )Paramount Fine Foods Centre (Mississauga, ON )Portland Exposition Building (Portland, ME )Public Auditorium (Cleveland, OH )Silver Spurs Arena (Kissimmee, FL )Van Andel Arena (Grand Rapids, MI )Wayne State Fieldhouse (Detroit, MI )Westchester County Center (White Plains, NY ) Western
Acrisure Arena (Thousand Palms, CA )Adventist Health Arena (Stockton, CA )Bert Ogden Arena (Edinburg, TX )Casey's Center (Des Moines, IA )Chiles Center (Portland, OR )Comerica Center (Frisco, TX )Frontwave Arena (Oceanside, CA )H-E-B Center at Cedar Park (Cedar Park, TX )Kaiser Permanente Arena (Santa Cruz, CA )Landers Center (Southaven, MS )Maverik Center (West Valley City, UT )Mexico City Arena (Mexico City, CDMX )Mullett Arena (Tempe, AZ )Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, OK )Sanford Pentagon (Sioux Falls, SD )
Theaters Arenas and Former
