United Center

The United Center is a sports arena located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines, located at 1901 W. Madison Street, west of downtown Chicago. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. The plan to build the arena was created by Bill Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf, the owners of the two sports teams, respectively. The United Center’s predecessor was the indoor Chicago Stadium, which was demolished after the newer arena opened for business on August 18, 1994. The famous statue of Michael Jordan is located on the east side of the arena.

Seating Capacity: Basketball: 22,879, Hockey: 20,500
Opened: August 18, 1994
Owner: Bill Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf
Operator: Bill Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf
Architect: HOK Sport, Marmon Mok, W.E. Simpson Company

The privately-owned arena is 960,000 square feet big and is located on a 46 acre parcel west of the Chicago Loop. The arena claims to be the largest in the United States (in physical size, not in capacity; the arena seats 20,500 for hockey, 22,879 for basketball and up to 23,500 for concerts), and hosts over 200 events per year, drawing over 20 million visitors since its grand opening.

In addition to approximately 100 Bulls/Blackhawks games each year, the United Center has hosted other sporting events such as University of Illinois basketball, the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament (hosted six times with a seventh scheduled for 2007), and the Great Eight Classic. Musical acts appearing at the United Center have included Dave Matthews Band, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, U2, The Who, Madonna, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam and The Three Tenors.

The United Center has also provided a Chicago home for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice. The United Center was also the site of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) SummerSlam in 1994, and the 1996 Democratic National Convention. It also hosted the last World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Spring Stampede in 2000.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

[ Anything to add? Spotted an error? Click here to improve this entry ]

United Center website
United Center wikipedia entry
Chicago Bulls website
Bullscast Fansite
Chicago Blackhawks website

[ Anything to add? Spotted an error? Click here to improve this entry ]

Leave a comment!