Report: Washington's Verizon Center to change name for 2018 season

Ted Leonsis's Monumental Sports and Entertainment has kick-started the process of acquiring new naming rights to the Verizon Center prior to puck drop on the 2018 season, reports Thomas Heath from the Washington Post.

The home of the NHL's Washington Capitals and NBA's Washington Wizards - which hosted more than a handful of meaningful games this spring - will see its deal with the telecommunications giant expire in two seasons without renewal.

The arena first opened as the MCI Center in 1997 before the company went bankrupt and was bought out by Verizon.