The Verizon Center is about to host four events in four nights: a Wizards basketball game, a Capitals hockey game, a concert by members of the Grateful Dead and John Meyer, and then another Wizards game.
How do the crews make it work? News4's Mark Segraves found out.
Stage teams will work overnight the rest of this week to transform a basketball court into a hockey rink and then into a stage, executive David Touhey said. As soon as the last Wizard steps off the court, crews will begin to tear it down.
"The hardest working guys in the building come in about midnight and then finish between 5 and 7 a.m.," Touhey said. "It's kind of like a dance -- very choreographed in the way things move, the order that they're done."
Temperature control is on the crew's to-do list. The thermostat is set in the 50s for hockey, in the 60s for basketball games and warm
The air conditioning is turned down for hockey (in the 50s), up for basketball (in the 60s) and also down for Madonna.
The Material Girl requested the Verizon Center be kept hot.
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"She liked it warmer than cooler," Touhey said.
Comedian Kevin Hart's request was that fans refrain from taking cell phone photos and video during two sold-out shows earlier this year.
"They had us hire extra security that literally walked the aisles asking people to put their cell phones away," Touhey said. "Once the show started, if your cell phone was out, you were removed from the building."
About 75 fans were removed from the performances over two nights.
Each event poses its own challenges. At the Dead & Company concert Friday night, the staff expects to have to deal with fans who smoke.
"The Dead had a long history of a culture that was more supportive of that than dismissive," Touhey said. "Even during that time, it was always the bane of the staff to get people to not smoke."
And though concert goers generally like to party, the days of rock stars throwing huge backstage parties are mostly over.
"More often than not nowadays, the artists get off the stage, get into a car and head right out," Touhey said.
