{"id":9379,"date":"2026-05-26T22:01:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T22:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=9379"},"modified":"2026-05-26T22:01:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T22:01:55","slug":"venue-gets-mixed-reviews-as-national-spelling-bee-returns-to-dc-ahead-of-white-house-ufc-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=9379","title":{"rendered":"Venue gets mixed reviews as National Spelling Bee returns to DC ahead of White House UFC event"},"content":{"rendered":"

By BEN NUCKOLS<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 After 15 years at a convention center in suburban Maryland, the Scripps National Spelling Bee moved this year to a grand stage befitting the stakes of the competition: Constitution Hall, Washington\u2019s largest dedicated concert venue.<\/p>

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Not everyone at this week\u2019s competition appreciates the change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like they should not have moved it. The old venue was better. Because it\u2019s a bit of a hassle, getting on the bus and going there and then coming back,\u201d said 14-year-old Yahya Mohammed, a three-time speller from Hoffman Estates, Illinois. \u201cThe old venue was more spacious, and it feels kind of isolated in the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the National Spelling Bee began with Tuesday\u2019s preliminary rounds, spellers and their families marveled at the historical significance of their new venue and the nearby cultural opportunities while also dealing with logistical hurdles: crowded hallways, limited dining options and shuttle bus rides to and from their hotel.<\/p>\n

Built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Constitution Hall sits a few blocks from the Washington Monument and the White House. Spellers and their families are staying at the nearby J.W. Marriott, a favored haunt of lobbyists and interest groups, and the quickest route to the competition venue would normally be a stroll across the Ellipse, the grassy expanse south of the Executive Mansion.<\/p>\n

However, the Ellipse is surrounded by temporary fencing and security checkpoints as crews construct an outdoor octagon on the South Lawn of the White House for UFC Freedom 250, a June 14 event timed for President Donald Trump\u2019s 80th birthday and marking the 250th anniversary of the nation\u2019s founding.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo very disparate forms of entertainment,\u201d said Rajeev Malhotra of Boston, the father of speller Rajeev Malhotra, describing the bee and the mixed martial arts extravaganza.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

Venue change brings heavy security but plenty of history and culture<\/h4>\n

Security was beefed up at the hall, with guards and metal detectors stationed at every entrance and explosive-sniffing dogs patrolling the hallways. Three blocks away and three days earlier, a man opened fire at a White House security checkpoint, injuring a bystander before he was fatally shot by Secret Service officers.<\/p>\n

At the prior venue, the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, spellers moved freely throughout the building, roaming between their hotel rooms, the ballroom that housed the competition stage and a massive food court where they grabbed quick meals between last-minute study sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year was better,\u201d said Arpit Aggarwal of Columbia, Missouri, whose daughter, Ananya, is competing for the second time. \u201cEverything was in one place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an adjustment,\u201d Ananya\u2019s mom, Deepti Bahl, said diplomatically.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

Other spellers appreciated the buzz of gathering downtown, saying it was more appropriate for a national competition. The bee began in 1925 and was held at a series of Washington hotels before it moved to the suburbs in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love being here, right next to the National Mall. You can see the Smithsonian, you can see the Jefferson Memorial. It\u2019s such a lively and unique city and I love being in the heart of it,\u201d said three-time speller Oliver Halkett, a 14-year-old from Los Angeles. \u201cThere\u2019s so much history, there\u2019s so much culture. The memorials and the museums are fascinating to go to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speller Andie Seavey of Fairbanks, Alaska, and her mom, Kristin, went to see the musical \u201cThe Great Gatsby\u201d at the National Theater next door to the hotel.<\/p>

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After 80 spellers were eliminated Tuesday during onstage spelling and vocabulary rounds, the remaining 167 competitors reconvened at the hotel for a high-stakes written test that determined the 100 or so who would move on to Wednesday morning\u2019s quarterfinals. The competition concludes Thursday night.<\/p>\n