It’s been 26 years since D.C. has hosted a championship parade like the one it’s hosting Tuesday to celebrate the Washington Capitals’ first Stanley Cup title in franchise history. Here are all of the available details of the festivities, as well as some ideas of what to expect based on recent championship parades in other cities.
When and where is the parade?
Tuesday’s parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Constitution Avenue and 17th Street NW. It will proceed along Constitution Avenue to 7th Street NW, where it will turn right and culminate with a rally at 7th Street NW and the National Mall.
How should I get there?
Fans are encouraged to take Metro or ride-share, as parking will be extremely limited near the parade route. Metrorail announced that it will operate rush-hour service throughout the day and that “hundreds of additional Metro employees will be on hand to support the operation” at downtown stations. According to Metro, the busiest stations are expected to be Archives, Arlington Cemetery, Foggy Bottom, Federal Triangle, Metro Center, Federal Center SW, L’Enfant Plaza, Smithsonian and Gallery Place. A full list of parking restrictions and road closures is available here.
How many people will be there?
Parade organizers are estimating that more than 100,000 people will attend, and the weather is supposed to be perfect, so there could be a fair number of people who take an extra-long lunch to check out the festivities.
“I think it’s going to be much bigger than everyone is expecting,” Capitals owner Ted Leonsis told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski after the Capitals’ 4-3 win in Las Vegas in Game 5.
Roughly 75,000 fans turned out to celebrate the Redskins’ last Super Bowl title at a rally on the Mall in January 1992. That was a fraction of the 600,000 who lined Pennsylvania Avenue to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl win in 1988 and the 500,000 who lined Constitution Avenue after the team won its first Lombardi Trophy in 1983. An estimated 700,000 fans attended the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade in February, while Pittsburgh city officials estimated 650,000 people attended the Penguins’ Stanley Cup championship parade last year.
An estimated 5 million people attended the Cubs’ World Series parade in 2016, which is a record for championship parades.
How early should I arrive?
That depends on how important it is for you to secure a spot close enough to potentially touch the Stanley Cup and admire Jakub Vrana’s new tattoo. Thousands of fans lined up before dawn for the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade, which also started at 11 a.m. Capitals fans began staking out spots for the Game 5 viewing party outside Capital One Arena hours before puck drop. Don’t expect to be able to show up at 10 a.m. tomorrow and have an unobstructed view of the route.
How long will the parade last?
That hasn’t been announced. The Eagles’ Super Bowl parade lasted roughly five hours, but the route was five miles. The Penguins’ 2017 championship parade, which covered about the same distance as the Capitals will cover tomorrow, lasted closer to three hours. Plan on the Capitals arriving at the rally portion of the parade by around 1 p.m.
Are there any bag restrictions?
Parade organizers have made no mention of security checks, so backpacks and bags, provided they’re not carrying anything illegal, would seem to be permitted.
Who will be in the parade, besides the Capitals?
On Tuesday afternoon, Monumental Sports and Entertainment announced the following people will make up the parade:
– D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser
– Members of the D.C. City Council
– Eastern High School “Blue and White Marching Machine” Marching Band
– Ballou High School “Majestic Knights” Marching Band
– Capitals’ original season-ticket holders
– D.C. Fire Department Emerald Society Pipes & Drums
– Monumental Sports and Entertainment owners and staff
– Capitals alumni
– Capital One Arena ice crew and Olympia ice resurfacers
– Metropolitan Police Department
– Capitals Red Rockers
– Slapshot
– Joe Beninati, John Walton, Alan May, Craig Laughlin, Al Koken, Tarik El-Bashir
– 106.7 The Fan hosts
– Elliot in the Morning’s Elliot Segal
– Fatima Al Ali
Where’s the best vantage point?
Monumental Sports and Entertainment hasn’t released many details about the parade, including the lineup for the rally that follows. If you want to guarantee that you’ll hear the speeches at the rally, your best bet is to post up near Constitution Avenue and 7th Street NW. If you want to see the Capitals potentially play in some water, grab a spot near the Haupt Fountains flanking the Constitution Avenue entrance to the Ellipse. Otherwise, set your DVR and grab a spot anywhere along Constitution Avenue between 17th Street and 7th Street. NBC Sports Washington will broadcast all-day coverage of the parade. Previous championship parades have featured video boards set up along the route and the applications for Tuesday’s parade included a request for Jumbotrons.
Are championship parade speeches ever any good?
The Eagles’ Jason Kelce set a high bar with his incredible, profanity-laced speech in February. If Alex Ovechkin and/or Tom Wilson get a chance to speak on Tuesday, you won’t want to miss it.
Will there be beer?
Uh, did you see how the Capitals celebrated over the weekend? Penn Social announced it’s opening at 10:30 a.m. for the parade. Fans are encouraged to bring plenty of water. Fans are not encouraged to bring beer, but they will, and they’ll likely toss them to Capitals players if recent parades are any indication.
Is this a family-friendly event?
For sure. People will be drinking, but it should be a festive celebration for fans of all ages. There were only a handful of arrests at the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade and Capitals fans were, for the most part, well behaved during the viewing parties that attracted thousands of fans outside Capital One Arena during the playoffs. “We ask everyone to continue to Rock the Red responsibly on Tuesday,” Monumental Sports and Entertainment said in a release.
What should I wear?
Red, ideally. Or Stanley Cup championship gear. The team announced that there will be merchandise stands selling officially licensed gear on the west curbs of 9th Street NW and 6th Street NW.
What else can I look forward to?
Four F-16 Fighting Falcons will fly over the parade around 11:25 a.m.
Will the Capitals sing “We Are The Champions”?
Almost definitely.
This post will be updated.
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