Kennedy Center Honors moves to Capital One Arena amid fight over Trump’s name

WASHINGTON – This year’s Kennedy Center Honors will be held at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C. rather than its traditional riverfront venue, which remains at the center of a legal battle over adding President Donald Trump’s name to the building.

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The 49th annual awards ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 7, a Kennedy Center spokesperson announced Friday. Details regarding the relocation were sparse, and officials offered no immediate explanation for the venue shift.

The center’s board voted last month to close the iconic performing arts facility along the Potomac River after a federal judge blocked the institution from adding Trump’s name to the building.

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Trump has stated in social media posts that the center requires closure for safety repairs, but maintained those repairs would only proceed if the board was permitted to add his name to the structure. 

A federal judge has twice ruled that such a change cannot occur without approval from Congress, which has allocated $257 million for building repairs.

Trump hosted the 2025 awards, where honorees included Sylvester Stallone and George Strait. During the event, Trump declared he would rename the facility the “Trump Kennedy Center,” and workers began installing his name on the building shortly thereafter. 

The Trump-appointed board of trustees had voted unanimously for the name change, sparking an ongoing court challenge.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Kennedy Center Honors celebrating Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, members of KISS, and Michael Crawford at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Sunday, December 7, 2025. (Official Wh

Congress designated the performing arts venue as a living memorial to John F. Kennedy in 1964, the year following his assassination. 

Federal law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from designating the center as a memorial to anyone else or placing another person’s name on the building’s exterior.

Established in 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors recognize lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts. The 2026 honorees will be announced at a later date, according to the spokesperson.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive to the Kennedy Center to attend the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., Sunday, December 7, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)