United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named after its corporate sponsor United Airlines, which has been based in Chicago since 2007 and has a hub at O'Hare International Airport. With a capacity of nearly 21,000, the United Center is the largest arena by capacity in the NBA, and second largest arena by capacity in the NHL. It also has a seating capacity of 23,500 for concerts.
Opening in 1994, the United Center replaced the Chicago Stadium, which was located across the street. The first event held at the arena was WWF SummerSlam. Due to the lockout, the Blackhawks did not move in until January 1995. In 1996, the United Center hosted the Democratic National Convention.
The arena is home to an iconic statue of Michael Jordan erected in 1994. Originally located outside the arena, it now stands inside an atrium which was added in 2017. The Jordan statue has since been joined by statues of Blackhawks legends Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, while a statue of various Blackhawks players is located across the street on the site of Chicago Stadium.
On March 25, 2021, the United Center became Chicago's logistical hub to support the city's efforts against COVID-19.
Arena information
Both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bulls play their home games at the arena with some of them on back to back nights. The hardwood floor for the Bulls games is laid over the ice that the Blackhawks play on. The flooring is assembled like a puzzle and taken apart when the Blackhawks have a game. The Chicago Bulls operate their practice facility, the Advocate Center, named after the Advocate Medical Group, a block just to the east of the United Center. That facility opened in 2014.
The Bulls and Blackhawks own and operate United Center through the United Center Joint Venture (UCJV), a 50/50 partnership. It covers on a 46-acre (19 ha) parcel, west of the Chicago Loop. The arena is the largest in the United States in size, though not in capacity. Its exterior bears a striking resemblance to that of Chicago Stadium. It seats 19,717 for hockey, 20,917 for basketball and up to 23,500 for concerts. The United Center hosts over 200 events per year and has drawn over 20 million visitors since its opening. Attendance routinely exceeds seating capacity for Bulls and Blackhawks games.
Design and construction
The arena's original construction cost $175 million.
United Center's acoustics were designed to amplify noise to replicate "The Roar" – the din that made Chicago Stadium famous, especially during hockey games. The designers originally estimated that the United Center would be 80% as loud as the Chicago Stadium had been. To amplify noise, they placed angled steel panels around the top level in order to reflect noise back into the arena's bowl.
During hockey season, the Blackhawks use an Allen Organ that is a replica of the Chicago Stadium's famous Barton organ. Recreating the old organ's notes took two years.
The building is tall, and is of concrete and steel construction, with 3,500 tons of steel being utilized in its construction. While the Blackhawks and Bulls had long planned another arena, an inflated real estate market and the early 1990s recession delayed the project until financing was secured from an international syndicate, with funding by banks from Japan, Australia and France. The arena originally had 216 luxury sky-boxes, the most of any professional hockey or basketball venue at the time of its opening. As of the 2009–10 renovation the arena has 169 executive suites on three levels. It also was originally constructed with 3,000 club sets.
Architects originally proposed utilizing limestone and granite for its exterior, however the owners instead decided to have a less expensive precast concrete exterior.
Per the team owners' request, the City of Chicago closed a section of Monroe Street west of the stadium, as the venue's footprint extends into where the road's sidewalk had previously been located. When the venue opened, Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin criticized this street closure and other aspects as the venue's design as isolating the venue from its surrounding neighborhood. He argued that the venue's design had intentionally closed the arena off from its surroundings, which at the time included the (since-demolished) Henry Horner Homes public housing.