[6] In 1964, Abe Pollin became the owner of the National Basketball Association's Baltimore Bullets and wanted to reconnect the sport to the DC region.

[7] It was located just outside (east) of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) at exit 16, less than a mile (1.6 km) southeast of FedExField, the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League, which opened in 1997.

All three teams departed for the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena), just north of the National Mall in D.C., when it opened in December 1997.

[15][16][17] During October and November 1973, the Bullets held their home games at nearby Cole Field House on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park.

The arena hosted games of three NBA Finals; the first was in 1975, when the favored Bullets were swept by the Golden State Warriors.

[19] The Bullets won the Finals' opener at home in 1979, but then dropped four straight to the Sonics, who celebrated their only NBA title after the Game 5 victory at Capital Centre.

[20] Footage of past Washington Bullets games held at the Capital Centre was used in the 1979 comedy film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.

On December 5, 1981, the Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team played against San Diego State with a 71–53 win in their first game at the arena after moving from the McDonough Gymnasium.

The Capitals joined the league alongside the Kansas City Scouts as an expansion team for the 1974-75 season, making this arena their first to play their home games in.

A boxing World Heavyweight Championship bout took place at the venue in 1976 with Jimmy Young challenging the champion Muhammad Ali.

The Friday night fight on April 30 went the full fifteen rounds and was awarded unanimously to a sluggish Ali.

The first concert ever held at the Capital Centre was the Allman Brothers Band on December 4, 1973, two nights after the first Bullets game.

[25][26] After drummer Keith Moon died in September 1978, The Who returned to the stage in May 1979 and later that year they performed at the Capital Centre on December 13 and 17.

After releasing its eighth consecutive gold album in just six years, Chicago embarked upon a massive stadium tour in 1975 that is considered to be one of its finest.

The first two volumes of Kiss' retrospective DVD series Kissology included bonus discs of late-1970s shows videotaped at the arena.

His only other concert in the Washington, D.C., area was on September 27 and 28, 1974, at nearby University of Maryland's Cole Field House, also in Prince George's County.

Jethro Tull's performance recorded and filmed live at Capital Centre on November 21, 1977, was released in 2017's Songs From the Wood 40th Anniversary box set.

Concert videos of Blue Öyster Cult from the arena on December 27, 1976, have been released on their Live 1976 DVD and on July 14, 1978 Some Enchanted Evening Legacy Edition CD/DVD.

In July 1982, the band returned to the venue for the North American leg of the Hot Space Tour, with Billy Squier as the opening act.

Van Halen returned to the arena after a five-year absence on October 17, 1991, supporting their Grammy winning album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991).

[37] The Rolling Stones played three sold-out shows at the arena on December 7–9, 1981, in support of Tattoo You, the year's highest-grossing tour, with ticket sales of $50 million.

The cult video documentary short Heavy Metal Parking Lot was shot by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn on May 31, 1986, in the arena's parking lot, comically documenting thousands of heavy metal fans as they partied before a Judas Priest concert (with special guests Dokken).

George Michael, in the midst of becoming the highest selling artist in America in 1988, brought his worldwide "Faith Tour" to the Capital Centre on August 6 and 7, 1988.

Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin also played his last show for two years with the band as he was fired following Melvoin's death due to his own drug problems.

[43] On January 19, 1993, a cast including Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, the Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe, comedians Chevy Chase and Bill Cosby, and actors Jack Lemmon and James Earl Jones, performed at the 42nd Presidential Inaugural Gala in Bill Clinton's honor.

It was replaced by The Boulevard at the Capital Centre, a town center-style shopping mall that opened in Landover in 2003, which was also demolished July 2019 to make way for Carillon, a new lifestyle-oriented mixed-use development on the same site.

[45] Opened in late 1973, the Capital Centre was the first indoor arena to have a video replay screen on its center-hung scoreboard.