The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony will not be held in the venue it is named after.
Instead, it will be held where people would normally see hockey or basketball: the Capital One Arena, The Associated Press reported.
The arena can hold about 20,000 people while the Opera House at the Kennedy Center holds 2,347 attendees, The Washington Post said.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson announced the change but did not provide many details or an explanation for the location change.
CNN said the Dec. 7 event will be an “extension” of the annual tradition, according to a “Save the Date” announcement.
The performing arts complex board voted to close the main building last month after a federal judge blocked them from adding President Donald Trump’s name to the building. The board says it needs to close for a two-year renovation and that President Donald Trump is needed to help raise money for the work, and that he should be recognized with his name on the building.
The building is now closed, but not for the two years the board wanted, because of supposed safety concerns about its infrastructure, the Times said. The Washington Post said the closure may continue for another week or two, according to a staff memo sent this week, which stated it was an “assessment timeline” and “not a reopening date. ”
Ex officio board member and Ohio Democrat Rep. Joyce Beatty said the closure is a pretext for the center’s financial and artistic decline under the administration.
The center’s board is appealing the judge’s ruling.
While we know when and where the Kennedy Center Honors will occur, the board has not said who will be celebrated this year, who will host, or who will air the show, the Post reported.
It is the first time it has ever been held someplace other than the Kennedy Center, The New York Times reported.