Capitol Arena

The **Capitol Arena** was a dilapidated amphitheater in the Capitol that was later appropriated as a Hunger games arena. The 1st through 10th Hunger Games were held there.

## History

The arena was once a "state-of-the-art" amphitheater used for various sporting, entertainment, and military events. It had been built across the river to prevent crowds from swamping the downtown. Its richest guests came through an entrance marked with velvet rope, and they viewed the festivities from private boxes, some of which even sported retractable roofs, air-conditioning, and Avox servants. Those who were not as rich had to enter via turnstiles using Capitol tokens.

During the First Rebellion, high-profile executions were staged there, making it a prime target for rebel bombers. Once it became the first Hunger Games arena, tributes were locked in with nothing but weapons while the audience watched from the comfort of their own homes. At the conclusion of each competition, the bodies would be removed and the doors locked until the next year with no further fanfare.

### 10th Hunger Games

#### Bombing of the Capitol Arena

On Saturday, July 9th, the Capitol Arena suffered a major bombing prior to the Games. Most people in attendance were injured, and Otto, Ginnee, and Apollo and Diana Ring died in the bombing itself. Facet, Velvereen, and Sabyn died staging an escape attempt amid the chaos, and Panlo and Sheaf succumbed to their injuriesbefore Gaius Breen met the same fate.

#### The Games

After the bombing, the Gamemakerspressed on with plans to hold the Games there. Betting, sponsorship, and sponsor gifts were introduced for the first time this year, which would provide tributes with food and water to keep them going for longer. There was also a scoreboard keeping track of the tributes left.

## Terrain

Bombings during the First Rebellion left the ground littered with craters and rubble, and the once-lush grass had died from lack of maintenance. The bombing before the 10th Hunger Games transformed the landscape, opening up access to tunnels where tributes could hide from their competitors. They could also scale the bleachers and concession stands to escape from one another, or from the snake mutts that were released on Day 4.

An important landmark in the arena is Lamina's wooden beam and the poles from which Marcus was hung at the start of the Games. Many tributes' deaths took place on or around them.

The Capitol Arena was not particularly secure; it was left unguarded in between the annual Games, and even when the 10th Hunger Games were underway, Sejanus Plinth was able to infiltrate the arena on the first night.

## Muttations

On the fourth day, Dr. Gaul unleashed a tank of muttation snakes as retaliation for Gaius Breen's death. They were brightly colored, and they heavily relied on their sense of smell because their hearing and sight were horrible. If they smelled an unfamiliar scent, they attacked it, and they killed two tributes. Coriolanus Snow had exposed them to Lucy Gray Baird's scent, so she was able to make a show of charming them. Once a storm rolled around, most of the snakes died because they drowned or could not regulate their temperature, but Lucy Gray was able to keep one alive in her pocket to set upon Treech.

## Food and water sources

There was no access to food and water in the arena itself, leaving tributes to die of dehydration, starve, or get killed by better-fed competitors. The introduction of sponsors in the 10th Hunger Games allowed audiences to pay to provide for their favorite tributes.