The Kennedy Center Honors will not be held at the Kennedy Center this year. The gala, which has run there regularly since 1978, is moving to Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, DC, on Dec. 7.
A center spokesperson announced the change Friday. The move follows months of dispute over whether the building can carry President Trump’s name.
Why the Center Closed
The Kennedy Center closed to the public Sept. 15. Its board voted to shut down the building for renovations on that date.
A federal judge blocked the institution from adding Trump’s name to the building without Congressional consent. Congress has allocated $257 million to renovate the 55-year-old building.
Trump posted on Truth Social that “the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name.” He added: “If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place.”
The board of trustees announced it had “unanimously” voted to add Trump’s name to the building days after the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, which recognized actor Sylvester Stallone and country legend George Strait.
The Safety Case Against the Building
In a draft resolution proposing a two-year closure for construction, a consultant and the center’s director called the main building unsafe for continued occupancy. They warned of further risks to public members and employees if it remained open.
A partial ceiling collapse in the center’s Grand Foyer occurred last month.
The law forbids the board from making the center a memorial to anyone else or placing another person’s name on the exterior. Congress named the center a living memorial to John F. Kennedy in 1964, the year after his assassination.
A judge ordered the name removed earlier this year.
What the Move Means
Capital One Arena can seat roughly 20,000 people for concerts. The Kennedy Center Opera House seats 2,347 people.
The 2026 Honorees will be announced at a later date.
The decision to move the gala reflects the current state of the building. The gala needs a place to happen while the renovation dispute continues.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the gala’s move to Capital One Arena and is against the Kennedy Center board’s attempt to rename the building without Congressional approval. The board’s push to add Trump’s name to a federally funded building that carries a legally protected memorial designation crosses a line between private decision-making and public trust.
The board’s vote came days after the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, and the decision was described as “unanimous,” though neither statement has been independently verified here. The center’s own experts called the building unsafe, and a partial ceiling collapse in the Grand Foyer followed. The board is attempting to rewrite its own identity without the people who gave the building its original purpose having a say.
Congress, which named the center a living memorial to John F. Kennedy in 1964, should weigh in on any name change. Until then, the gala should stay put wherever it lands — at Capital One Arena, or elsewhere — rather than let one board turn a public institution into a monument to itself.
Key Facts Box
- Event: Kennedy Center Honors
- Date: Dec. 7
- Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
- Previous venue: Kennedy Center, closed Sept. 15
- Gala runs: Regularly since 1978
- Last year’s honorees: Sylvester Stallone, George Strait
- 2026 Honorees: To be announced later
- Building age: 55 years
- Renovation funding: $257 million from Congress
- Ceiling collapse: Occurred last month
- Judge’s order: Name removed earlier this year
The Unresolved Fight
The dispute centers on whether the building can carry Trump’s name. The board voted to add the name to a building funded by federal dollars, a move that directly contradicts the law naming the center as a memorial to John F. Kennedy.
Trump’s posts suggest he sees the renovation as tied to the name fight. He has framed the project’s future around the courts, saying reconstruction will not proceed if the ruling goes against him.
The center’s own experts have called the building unsafe. The partial ceiling collapse adds urgency to their warning.
Until the courts resolve that question, the gala will continue elsewhere.
Source material: “Kennedy Center Honors won’t be held at namesake venue amid bitter battle over adding Trump name,” the New York Post.
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