At Capital One Arena, Fans Fume as Luxury Seats Sit Empty

The new-look Wizards and Alex Ovechkin’s farewell tour have had some unforeseen competition for attention at Capital One Arena so far this season.

Their opposition? The Lexus Vault seats.

The luxury seats, which are located in the center of the arena and are elevated, resembling a high-end bleacher, have become a major social media discussion among Capitals and Wizards fans.

The seats were added as part of the $1 billion renovations made to Capital One Arena, a project partially funded by taxpayer dollars. In recent years, numerous sports organizations have traded regular seats for more premium options as a way to boost revenue. Underneath the seats are high-end suites — hence the “vault” concept — where fans are treated to catering and other amenities. They debuted last year as part of the first wave of arena renovations.

Last month, the Capitals played a highly anticipated home opener against the Penguins. It marked the unofficial start of Alex Ovechkin’s farewell tour and featured him taking on Pittsburgh legend Sidney Crosby in one of the premiere hockey rivalries of the past decade. But on social media, several fans directed their attention away from the ice. In an otherwise packed arena, there was a cluster of empty seats.

For the Wizards, this season is the most anticipated in years, as a revamped roster is expected to move the organization past a long period of tanking. But on opening night, the Vault seats sat relatively empty.

Ellis Parker, a lifelong Wizards fan who has had multiple ticket packages over the years, said the empty seats were a topic of discussion among fans on opening night.

“It became a conversation … just because of how glaringly empty they were,” Parker told The Washington Sun. “Not only me and my friends but people sitting around you, you could hear them talking about how they were not very happy and thought it was kind of stupid. It looks like there’s a giant empty section. You’re in the midst of starting what’s supposed to be on the other side of a rebuild and it doesn’t make sense to the fanbase.”

After the game, Anthony Davis — the Wizards’ new All-Star forward — complimented the arena’s energy, while adding that he thought there was room for improvement.

“If we’re being honest, I’d like it to be a little more packed in there, you know? But the crowd was great. They were into it. They got us over the hump,” Davis said. “Last year … it was like ‘Dress Like a Seat Night’ in here.”

While Davis didn’t mention the Vault seats in his comments, multiple season ticket holders told The Sun that his quotes added to their argument about the arena’s atmosphere.

“We want it to be a great environment because we’re always a laughingstock around the league,” said Jared Ringel, a 26-year season ticket holder with the Wizards. “Having a pocket of empty seats in that area every night is a bad look. It goes against what we’re trying to do as fans to make it hyped and loud. If the players are gonna start noticing things like that and make them feel differently about staying here and coming here, well then, that’s obviously not cool and takes it to another level.”

Ted Leonsis, owner of both the Capitals and Wizards, has had his X account flooded with posts and replies about the empty seats.

Jim Van Stone, Monumental Sports’ president of business operations, told The Sun that arena construction has factored into the Vault seats debate because the seats were one of the first additions completed, meaning they stick out. The entirety of the renovation is expected to be done before next season, barring a deep playoff run by the Capitals or Wizards.

“We empathize and completely understand people’s perception, but I think a lot of this is trying to get a lot of work done in a short period of time,” Van Stone said.

Located between sections 110 and 112 on the lower concourse, the seats come with quite the perks — if you can afford them. Suites that can host up to 20 people, custom parking and elite catering are all included, for a cost as high as seven figures annually and a multi-year commitment, according to Sports Business Journal. A membership comes with access to all events at Capital One Arena, and the Vaults can be used outside events for meetings and parties.

On Monumental Sports’ website, fans can inquire about the seats by filling out a form, but no price tag is listed. Vault seats don’t appear on resale apps such as SeatGeek. Van Stone said the renovations are reducing the number of suites in the arena from 105 to 85, and the vault seats represent less than 1% of the arena’s seating. “A lot of our [suites] inventory is completely sold out,” he said.

Fans interviewed for this story admitted that no easy solution exists to solve the vault seats debate. The Wizards are a business, and if the seats generate as much as they reportedly do, moving or removing them is unlikely.

Parker suggested selling standing room only tickets as an affordable option to put more fans in the building. Lee Newman, a season ticket holder who writes about the team for Sleeper, said closing the amenities the Vaults provide as a motivation to go back to the game could work, too.

Newman recently attended the Wizards’ loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City and sat in club seating. He noticed the food and drink options closed after halftime, motivating fans to return to the game.

“It’s crazy to leave those seats empty for either team, Wizards or Caps,” Newman said. “I just think the team should do something to incentivize those fans to be in their seats.”

Van Stone said the feedback from Vault seat owners has been extremely positive, and added that the organization doesn’t have a policy to close suite amenities by a specific time. He said there are processes in place to notify fans in the Vault seats that a game or event is starting, with all monitors switching to countdown clocks as the start time approaches.

Ultimately, Van Stone said, Vault seat holders are enjoying the experience, and it’s not the organization’s place to tell them how to spend their time in the arena.

“We would never want to force people to go back to their seats,” Van Stone said. “It’s part of them investing in whatever inventory that we have. We want people to be able to curate and customize their own entertainment experience.”