Cheer on the Capital Region USA's Sports Teams
Get a true taste of America's team spirit at one of these popular athletic and sporting events, including football, baseball and racing.
Get a true taste of America's team spirit at one of these popular athletic and sporting events, including football, baseball and racing.
Camden Yards is the home to the Baltimore Orioles Major League Baseball team (Photo courtesy Visit Baltimore)
Richmond International Raceway (Photo courtesy Richmond Region Tourism)
The Washington Capitals hockey team
Capitol One Arena is home to the Washington Wizards basketball team
Run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, the Preakness Stakes is the second leg in the Triple Crown
Virginia Beach hosts the East Coast Surfing Championships (Photo courtesy Visit Virginia Beach)
Camden Yards is the home to the Baltimore Orioles Major League Baseball team (Photo courtesy Visit Baltimore)
Richmond International Raceway (Photo courtesy Richmond Region Tourism)
The Washington Capitals hockey team
Capitol One Arena is home to the Washington Wizards basketball team
Run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, the Preakness Stakes is the second leg in the Triple Crown
Virginia Beach hosts the East Coast Surfing Championships (Photo courtesy Visit Virginia Beach)
Major League Baseball
The Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles — the Capital Region’s Major League Baseball teams — both take the field at stadiums in scenic neighbourhoods, where soaking up the sunshine with a beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other is a quintessential American pastime. You can also catch a game from several Minor League Baseball teams throughout the region including Virginia's Richmond Flying Squirrels and the Fredericksburg Nationals. Season: April–October
National Football League
The USA's most intense fan bases emerge each fall for American football. You’ll catch the fever, too, when you experience the hard hits, miraculous diving catches and end-zone celebrations of the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens. Season: September–January
National Basketball Association
See the flamboyant dunks and gravity-defying alley-oops of DC’s NBA and WNBA teams. The Washington Wizards (NBA) put on their spectacular show at Capital One Arena whilst the Washington Mystics (WNBA) play at Entertainment and Sports Arena. Season: October–April and May–September
National Hockey League
Coming off the prior season in which they won the coveted Stanley Cup for the first time, in 2019 the Washington Capitals reached the playoffs for the eleventh time in 12 years. Attend a riveting home game at downtown DC’s Capital One Arena. Season: October–April
NASCAR
Head to Virginia and feed your need for speed with the intense drama of stock-car racing at Martinsville Speedway’s paper-clip-shaped raceway in the mountains of Ridgeway, the massive Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway whose recent infield redevelopment project added a viewing walkway so fans can get a closer look at all the action.
Major League Soccer & the National Women's Soccer League
Let DC United — the most decorated club in US football (or “soccer,” locally) — and the Washington Spirit professional women's club — whose roster is stacked with players of the 2023 Women's World Cup — show you what the American version of the sport is all about. Wear your red and black (or red and blue) to cheer the teams on. Season: March–October
Preakness Stakes
Held each May at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, this thoroughbred horse race is the second leg in the Triple Crown, three sought-after competitions for elite colts and fillies. (The Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes are the others). Don a jaunty hat and be sure to sip a Black-Eyed Susan, the event’s official cocktail, for a day at the races.
Mubadala Citi Open Tennis Tournament
This hard-court tournament is held in DC’s Rock Creek Park, a spectacular, 2,000-acre nature sanctuary right in the city. The men’s and women’s pro tour stop brings the world’s best players to town each July/August for eight days of world-class tennis.
East Coast Surfing Championships
Pro surfing’s second-oldest, continuously run competition has made its home on the big waves of Virginia Beach for more than 50 years. Each August, lovers of sun and sand celebrate the surf by riding the waves, paddleboarding, playing beach volleyball, attending concerts and much more.