By Brett Gellman and Andrew Wiseman
In this series’ third installment, DCist sports writers Brett Gellman and Andrew Wiseman venture out to the Xfinity Center in College Park—home of the University of Maryland Terrapins. They take in the sights and sounds of the home team, its fans, and the stadium. They also tell you where to grab a drink and a bite to eat before and after the game.
Arena: The Xfinity Center is what a big college basketball arena should be. The arena, which seats nearly 18,000 people, seems much smaller and more intimate than its capacity. It’s loud, the fans are close to the action, and it’s fun (unlike Georgetown games at the Verizon Center, where anything less than a sellout results in a cavernous, detached atmosphere).
The arena first opened in the fall of 2002 after the Terrapins’ lengthy, but legendary tenure at Cole Field House where the team won its first national championship. That building is soon to become the location of the university’s fancy new indoor football facility.
Originally billed as the Comcast Center, Xfinity hosts the men’s and women’s basketball teams as well as graduations and special events (President Obama held a healthcare reform rally there in 2009). Only the Verizon Center beats Xfinity in terms of capacity in the D.C. metropolitan area, as the Phone Booth can currently accommodate up to 20,356 for basketball.
After a lengthy walk from the parking lot and up the stairs, visitors are greeted at the main entrance with the NCAA men’s basketball national championship trophy from 2002. The women’s national championship trophy from 2006, which is above speakers playing the audio from the championship game, is only a few steps away, adjacent to the Terrapin Team Shop. Walking along the concourse, walls are covered with photos and bios of Maryland Athletics Hall of Famers and the actual playing floors from the ’02 Men’s and ’06 Women’s Final Four. It’s basically a University of Maryland sports history museum, which is pretty interesting to see, even if you’re not a Terps fan—there are a lot of big names and interesting stories in there.
Atmosphere: Maryland is known as having one of the liveliest student sections in the country, making the Xfinity Center one of the toughest places to play in all of college basketball. The university’s switch from the Atlantic Coast Conference to the mostly Midwestern Big Ten doesn’t seem to have affected the crowd either. In the game we attended against Northwestern, hardly a big rivalry, the crowd was loud and raucous (of course, it helps that the team has been ranked in the top 10 for the whole season.)
The student section surrounds the entire court, taking up the first ten rows, which means consistent noise anywhere you sit, and there’s also “The Wall,” a 35-degree incline in the end zone with 2,600 undergrads shredding their larynxes while opposing teams shoot free throws in the second half. It’s an intimidating advantage that has been further upped this year with a “Fowl Shot” promotion: if the opposing team misses both free throws in the last three minutes of the second half, fans get free Chick-fil-A sandwiches (the Wizards have the same promotion). This causes extra noise if the other team misses the first shot, as college kids love free food.
The students also have a lot of traditions during the games, which are pretty amusing. During the opposing team’s starting lineup, students all pretend to read newspapers, then throw them in the air when the Terps are introduced. There’s also an a capella version of “Rock and Roll Part II” sung immediately after tipoff, a dead-silent crowd lifting their arms during each Terps free throw attempt, an enormous Maryland flag cascading down The Wall during TV timeouts, and a sing-along to Maryland native Biz Markie’s hit “Just a Friend.” The pep band is loud, too, playing the Maryland fight song and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme (Terrapins, get it?) multiple times per game.
Concessions: The concession stands at Xfinity Center are plentiful and feature a diverse array of food offerings from your typical stadium fare of hot dogs and hamburgers to more Maryland-centric options like delicious crab nachos and Boardwalk Fries. And starting this year, the University implemented a trial run of selling beer that you can bring to your seat. There are in-state breweries like Heavy Seas and Flying Dog and even smaller ones like Route 4 IPA by Calvert Brewing Company (though Brett would love to see some more Maryland drafts from places like RAR and Denizens, too). Apparently there’s a miniature version of “The Chessie” offered, a giant pretzel covered in cheese, and crab dip infamously sold at Maryland football games, but we were unable to find it during the Northwestern game.
Pre- and postgame spots: While Maryland alumnus and ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt loves to exclaim “Let’s go to Bentley’s,” a downtown College Park bar, after a Terps victory, downtown is on the other end of campus from the Xfinity Center, which is not exactly walking distance. Instead, Andrew and I cut through Paint Branch Trail and crossed Route One to get to Town Hall Liquors (which we mentioned before in DCist’s dive bar list).
Town Hall has two doors: “LIQUOR” and “LOUNGE,” as it is half bar and half funky old liquor store. Featuring one of the largest pinball collections in the D.C. area, it’s a great pre- or post-game gathering spot if you’re looking for a cheap, quality beer and a distinctive vibe—a funny mix of grumpy townie regulars, college kids, dirt cheap light beer, and shots and microbrews in a concrete and cinder block building. When Andrew walked in, he texted “holy shit” and said it looked like the bar from “Road House.” I could imagine someone getting a pool cue broken over their head. And while Town Hall doesn’t offer any food (save for a creepy looking snack bar that we dared not try), you can bring in takeout from the many College Park eateries nearby.
There are a few other spots along Route One, too, like Bobby’s Burger Palace and Looney’s plus others farther afield. The street currently doesn’t have much of a college vibe to it, but the university and the city of College Park are working on it.
Stay tuned for our next installment as we head to George Washington University.
Previous Installments:
Howard University’s Burr Gym
UDC’s Athletic Complex
