When Verizon purchased MCI back in February 2005, Ask DCist pondered what would become of the MCI Center’s name. Wonder no more; the MCI Center is slated to become — **gasp** — the Verizon Center by the end of March 2006. We were hoping for a more creative name, really.

The MCI Center website has yet to post news of the name change. We figure that their strategic branding folks are working on a way to really convey the winning combination between Verizon and arena events to the D.C. public. Most importantly, does this mean that the well-known indigo and orange logo will give way to Verizon red? We’ll have to see how the Verizon sign gurus might change the look of 601 F Street, NW. For a look at the history before the Center took on the MCI name, here is a Post timeline.

In other stadium-naming news, barring a merger with, say, UPS or DHL, it looks like the Redskins’ FedEx Field is slated to keep its name until 2025. In regards to RFK’s name, as with the stadium’s existence itself, the jury is still out on that one.

Picture taken by EXB-WDC.