Verizon Center Tenth Aniversary logo shown on the new HD scoreboard Wizards forward Antawn Jamison paints in the gym More Photos

Birthdays revolve around the act of receiving gifts when turning a year older. Irene and Abe Pollin prefer the act of giving gifts. In December, the premier sports and entertainment facility they built in downtown Washington, D.C. that sparked a revitalization effort to the tune of over $5.7 billion, Verizon Center, is turning ten. To celebrate this grand occasion and to continue the Pollin’s tradition of giving back to the community, Verizon Center just launched its year-long tenth anniversary campaign this morning at Spingarn High School with a Community Service Day makeover. Team personnel, players and staff members from the Washington Wizards, Washington Mystics, Washington Capitals and Verizon Center helped paint Spingarn High School’s gym and landscaped the exterior of the school.

Eddie Jordan, Head Coach of the Washington Wizards was joined by Tommy Sheppard, Vice President of Basketball Administration for the Washington Wizards, and Phil Hubbard and Wes Unseld, Jr, Assistant Coaches of the Washington Wizards, as they spearheaded the community service day’s events. Antawn Jamison, Nick Young, Andray Blatche, Mike Hall, Dominic McGuire, Donell Taylor and Oleksiy Pecherov of the Washington Wizards, Monique Currie of the Washington Mystics as well as staff from Verizon Center, the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals and Washington Mystics, also participated in the makeover for Spingarn High School.

“It seems like yesterday we were building the arena downtown and gearing up for opening day,” said Chairman of Washington Sports & Entertainment Abe Pollin. “Now we’re coming upon the ten-year anniversary of the building and it’s exhilarating to see how the downtown area has become the center of all the action. The city is part of our family and we plan to keep on giving back to our family for many years to come.”

Verizon Center’s ten-year anniversary campaign is a year-long effort encompassing “A Passion That Shows” amongst the local community that has grown over the years to become a bustling downtown destination. The advertising campaign focuses on the arena being at “the center of all the action” as world-class sporting events, concerts and family shows grace the stage, and patrons grace the sidewalks of DC visiting one of the many restaurants and retail shops nearby. The campaign also includes “station domination” within the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro station, as well as a ten-year anniversary logo. Additional highlights of the anniversary campaign include a building makeover, an official celebration during the December 1 Washington Wizards game against the Toronto Raptors, and a new face for the arena’s website (www.verizoncenter.com).

Advertising Campaign:
The advertising campaign for the tenth anniversary includes ads in local newspapers including Mayor Adrian Fenty, Washington Wizards player Caron Butler, and restaurant entrepreneur Tony Cheng. Each ad displays the individual’s passion for the city dating back to 1997 when the revitalization efforts of downtown began with the opening of Verizon Center. Each thought and memory is so strong that the individual has opted to “tattoo” the Verizon Center’s ten-year anniversary logo onto their arm as a display of their passion. Additional people featured in the campaign include Washington Mystics All-Star Alana Beard, Washington Capitals player Boyd Gordon, and “friends from the neighborhood” including FRESHFARM Market Co-Directors Ann Harvey Yonkers and Bernadine Prince, Zola’s Executive Chef Bryan Moscatello, and the Spy Museum’s Executive Director Peter Earnest, amongst others.

Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro Station:
With an estimated 60 percent of patrons taking Metro to events at the arena, Verizon Center has also worked with Metro to give the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro station a makeover. Beginning Thursday, September 27th, Verizon Center begins their “station domination” for the tenth anniversary campaign as we flood the subway system with advertising for two months, followed by street decals and banners across the city of Washington. Later in the year trains on the red line will also be wrapped with the advertising campaign.

Community Service Day and Official Launch:
The 10th Anniversary celebration officially kicks off with the Verizon Center Community Service Day event at Spingarn High School. As with most projects involving Irene and Abe Pollin, there is always a mandate to give back to the community, and with Verizon Center's constant work with the District of Columbia's school system, the staff at Verizon Center has chosen to target several schools in the city throughout the coming year. Spingarn is in need of various repairs including new paint for their school gym and landscaping. The "makeover" at the school will begin with the help of Verizon Center’s staff, team personnel and players at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 27th.

Building Makeover:
Verizon Center has also undertaken a makeover of its own to celebrate the building's 10th Anniversary. Patrons visiting Verizon Center in the coming weeks will see the debut of a brand new, state-of-the-art high definition scoreboard, the first of its kind for indoor arenas, and a new concourse color scheme and directional signage. Many more improvements are planned throughout the coming months. The new scoreboard and fascia boards will debut during the Washington Capitals first home preseason game tonight, Tuesday, September 25 at 7:00 p.m., and will offer fans the ultimate arena experience by providing crystal-clear images, color and clarity unlike any other arena in the country.

December 1st Washington Wizards Game:
With the actual birthday for the arena on December 2nd, the Washington Wizards are planning a grand celebration during the December 1st home game against the Toronto Raptors. Fans will be “tattooed” with Verizon Center history, trivia and events in celebration of the opening of Verizon Center exactly ten years ago.

New Website:
The tenth anniversary campaign will also continue in cyberspace and beyond with a new face for the Verizon Center website (www.verizoncenter.com). Along with the new look of the website will be a new section highlighting the tenth anniversary including photo galleries, articles on the building over the past ten years and event highlights.

Additional events and moments will be added throughout the year as Verizon Center turns ten and celebrates this great moment with the community its proud to be a part of: Chinatown and downtown Washington, D.C.