The Nation’s Capital is where pride and honor are part of the everyday, and sports are no exception. Residents are passionate about sporting competitions and welcome all athletes to their city. Washington D.C.’s mid-Atlantic location makes it easily accessible for sports teams across the East Coast and throughout the country. There are dozens of elite sports facilities in Washington D.C., and the city provides all the necessary amenities to help host a successful sports tournament.
The Fitzgerald Tennis Center features 25 outdoor tennis courts, 10 hard and 15 clay, as well as five indoor courts that are heated for winter play. The center surrounds the main stadium, where the Legg Mason Tennis Classic is played each year.
A truly historic Washington D.C. sports venue is Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, the current home of the D.C. United soccer team. It is a multi-purpose facility that is designed to accommodate both football and baseball. RFK seats 45,596 for baseball and 56,454 for football.
Two other popular venues in Washington D.C. are the Verizon Center and Nationals Park. Verizon Center is a 20,000-seat multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue. It is located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood and is home to the NBA Wizards, NHL Capitals, WNBA Mystics, and Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball. Nationals Park is where MLB’s Nationals team plays. The state-of-the-art facility seats 41,546 fans, features high-tech video and audio and is the first major stadium in the U.S. accredited with LEED standards.
FedEx Field is located in an unincorporated area in Prince George County, Maryland, only a few miles from Washington D.C. It is home to the NFL’s Washington Redskins and seats 82,000 spectators.
Washington D.C. houses many top universities, all with excellent athletic programs. Georgetown University, home of the Hoyas, offers a plethora of sports venues that visiting coaches and teams can rent out for events and tournaments. McDonough Arena is where the women’s basketball and volleyball teams play and seats 2,500 spectators. For outdoor matches, Kehoe Field provides a turf surface located on the roof of the Yates Field House and is home to the field hockey team.
George Washington University has a lively athletics program with 22 varsity sports and more than 4,000 student athletes. The Mount Vernon Athletic Complex is home to GW men’s and women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse and softball. The Athletic Field has hosted numerous NCAA Atlantic 10 Conference events. The complex features a multipurpose synthetic turf soccer field, softball field, gymnasium, tennis courts, and outdoor swimming pool, all of which are used for intercollegiate team practices and competitions. The Charles E. Smith Center is the primary athletic facility on the GW campus. It is where men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, men’s and women’s swim, and men’s and women’s water polo compete. The arena can accommodate 5,000 people and is perfect for hosting sports tournaments.
Howard University, located in northwest Washington, is home to the Bisons. One of its most popular sports facilities is William H. Greene Stadium, home to the university’s football and soccer teams. It seats 10,000 spectators.
Washington D.C. is home to some of the country’s most prominent national icons, drawing millions of visitors every year. Its mass tourist appeal, comfortable accommodations and state-of-the-art venues make it a wonderful destination to host a sports event, and planners will have no problem finding exactly what they need in the Nation’s Capital.
