United Center
Largest NBA arena, second-largest NHL arena.
The United Center, an indoor arena on Chicago’s Near West Side, serves as the home venue for the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Its name comes from corporate sponsor United Airlines. Opened in 1994, it took over from the nearby Chicago Stadium, which had operated since 1929. With a maximum capacity of 23,500, it holds the title of the largest arena in the NBA and ranks second in the NHL, behind only the Bell Centre.
The arena is owned jointly by the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, who also own the Bulls and Blackhawks, respectively, along with much of the surrounding land. Its first event was WWF SummerSlam, and it now hosts hundreds of sporting events and concerts each year. The United Center also served as the site of the Democratic National Convention in both 1996 and 2024, and it functioned as a municipal emergency hub during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Outside the arena stands a statue of Michael Jordan, captured mid-air in his signature flying pose. Erected in 1994, it was originally outdoors but now sits inside an atrium extension added in 2017. Statues of Blackhawks legends Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita have since been added, while a statue honoring various Blackhawks players stands across the street on the former site of Chicago Stadium.
The Bulls and Blackhawks play back-to-back home games on occasion. During the 2023–24 NBA season, the Bulls averaged 20,624 fans per home game, the highest in the league. The basketball court is assembled like a puzzle over the hockey ice and is dismantled when the Blackhawks need to play. The arena is operated through the United Center Joint Venture, a 50/50 partnership between the two teams. Covering 960,000 square feet on a 46-acre parcel west of the Chicago Loop, it is the largest arena in the United States by size, though not by capacity. Its exterior closely resembles that of Chicago Stadium. Seating holds 19,717 for hockey, 20,917 for basketball, and up to 23,500 for concerts. The venue hosts over 200 events annually and has drawn more than 20 million visitors since opening, with attendance often exceeding official capacity for Bulls and Blackhawks games.
The Bulls’ practice facility, The Advocate Center, opened a block east of the United Center in 2014. The Blackhawks’ practice rink, Fifth Third Arena, opened two blocks south in 2017.
Quick Facts
- Nickname
- The House that Jordan Built / The UC / The Madhouse on Madison
- Address
- 1901 West Madison Street
- Location
- Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- Groundbreaking
- April 6, 1992
- Built
- 1992–1994
- Opened
- August 18, 1994
- Owner
- United Center Joint Venture (UCJV) / (Chicago Bulls 50%/Chicago Blackhawks 50%)
- Operator
- United Center Joint Venture
- Scoreboard
- Mitsubishi Electric
- Renovated
- 2009–10 (300 Level) / 2014 (exterior)
- Expanded
- 2016–17 (atrium)
- Cost
- $175 million / ($ in US dollarsUS)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The United Center was built to replace Chicago Stadium, which had opened in 1929 and was located across Madison Street. The arena is owned by the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, who also own the Bulls and Blackhawks respectively, and much of the surrounding land. Its exterior was designed to bear a striking resemblance to that of Chicago Stadium, though architects originally proposed limestone and granite before the owners chose a less expensive precast concrete exterior. The arena's acoustics were designed to amplify noise to replicate 'The Roar' of the old stadium, with angled steel panels placed around the top level to reflect sound back into the bowl. During hockey season, the Blackhawks use an Allen TH323 Theatre Organ that is a replica of the Chicago Stadium's famous Barton organ, which took two years to recreate.
Reader's Guide
The United Center has hosted hundreds of sporting events and concerts each year, as well as the Democratic National Convention in 1996 and 2024. It served as the municipal emergency hub in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The arena is home to a statue of Michael Jordan, erected in 1994, originally outside but moved inside a 190,000-square-foot atrium extension added in 2017. Statues of Blackhawks players Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita have since been added, and a statue of various Blackhawks players stands across the street on the site of Chicago Stadium. The arena's first event was WWF SummerSlam. The Bulls and Blackhawks operate the United Center through a 50/50 partnership called the United Center Joint Venture. The hardwood floor for Bulls games is laid over the ice like a puzzle and taken apart for Blackhawks games. The arena has drawn over 20 million visitors since opening and hosts over 200 events per year.
Did You Know?
- The United Center was the first venue to install a Sony Jumbotron, making it the first video scoreboard used by the Bulls and Blackhawks.
- The arena originally had 216 luxury sky-boxes, the most of any professional ice hockey or basketball venue at its opening, later decreased to 169 executive suites.
- The Michael Jordan statue was originally outside but now stands inside an atrium extension added in 2017.
- The arena's construction used 3,500 tons of steel.
More in NHL Arenas 1-24
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