MedStar Capitals Iceplex is the practice arena of the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. The highest

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

above street-level in the United States, it is located on the eighth floor atop the parking garage adjoining the Ballston Quarter in the Ballston neighborhood of

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. The Capitals spend about 300 hours annually practicing at the arena, which has 12,000 hours of ice time available annually. The Iceplex also serves as the home ice for the club teams of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. The Iceplex also runs an adult league for amateur hockey players. It is regularly available for recreational use, and hosts "Learn to Skate" camps and lessons throughout the year. The Iceplex is also home to the NOVA Cool Cats special hockey team, which practices and has home games at the IcePlex, and the DC Sled Sharks, a

sledge hockey Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an Parasports, adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a ...

team for physically disabled youths 18 and under, which plays in the Delaware Valley Sled Hockey League. The Iceplex served as the initial inspiration for the building of LECOM Harborcenter in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

and

Terrence Pegula Terrence Michael Pegula (born March 27, 1951) is an American billionaire businessman and petroleum engineer. He is the owner of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL) and, with a consortium of private equity firms and athletes, th ...

. LECOM Harborcenter serves a similar purpose to the IcePlex.

History

21st century

The building was designed by William R. Drury of the

Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, and a principal city of both Northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Rest ...

–based firm, Architecture, Incorporated, and completed in November 2006 at a cost of $42.8 million. It is built to LEED standards, though was not registered with the Green Building Council to receive a certification. It is not fully handicapped accessible. The facility totals 137,000 square-feet and includes two indoor NHL-sized ice rinks, office space, 8 player locker rooms, a full-service ProShop, a Capitals Team Store, a snack bar, and spaces for special events. In addition, it includes a 20,000 square foot training center for the Capitals, containing an athletic-training and medical facilities, a weight room and fitness room, a locker room and lounge area, a high-tech theatre-style classroom and a video room. Originally named Ballston Ice Arena, it was renamed Kettler Capitals Iceplex by

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

real estate developer Robert C. Kettler. His firm, KSI Services, bought the naming rights to the arena on November 1, 2006, for seven years at $400,000 per year. The arena opened with its first practice 10 days later. In 2010, the Arlington County Board recognized the facility in the inaugural DESIGNArlington awards. The facility continued to bear Kettler's name until weeks after the Capitals won their first

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

in 2018, when

MedStar Health MedStar Health is a not-for-profit healthcare organization. It operates more than 120 entities, including ten hospitals in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area of the United States. In 2011 it was ranked as the private sector employer ...

bought the naming rights in a 10-year agreement together with the other

Monumental Sports & Entertainment Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) is an American sports management, sports and venue management company founded by Ted Leonsis in June 2010. Monumental owns and operates the NHL team Washington Capitals, the NBA team Washington Wizards, t ...

practice facilities.

References

External links

* {{authority control 2006 establishments in Virginia Ballston, Virginia buildings and structures in Arlington County, Virginia college ice hockey venues in the United States Monumental Sports & Entertainment National Hockey League practice facilities sports venues completed in 2006