United Center

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The arena was built with a specific acoustic design intended to replicate "The Roar" that made Chicago Stadium famous, utilizing angled steel panels to reflect noise back into the bowl. Although designers initially estimated it would be only 80% as loud as its predecessor, the venue successfully maintained an intense atmosphere. During hockey season, the Blackhawks utilize an Allen TH323 Theatre Organ, a replica of the original Barton organ, a recreation effort that took two years to perfect notes. The building itself is constructed of concrete and steel, standing 140 feet tall with 3,500 tons of steel utilized in its creation. Unlike the limestone and granite originally proposed by architects, the owners opted for a less expensive precast concrete exterior. The venue covers 960,000 square feet on a 46-acre parcel west of the Chicago Loop. When it opened, it featured 216 luxury sky-boxes, the most of any professional ice hockey or basketball venue at the time, though a 2009–10 renovation reduced this number to 169 executive suites.

In Their Own Story

The first event held at the arena was WWF SummerSlam in 1994, marking the beginning of a new era for Chicago sports. In 2017, a significant transformation occurred when a new 190,000 square foot privately funded atrium addition opened, relocating the iconic Michael Jordan statue from its original outdoor position to an interior event space within this new structure. The statue was erected in 1994 and posed mid-air in his famous "flying" jump. Since then, statues of Blackhawks legends Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita have joined it inside, while a separate statue of various Blackhawks players stands across the street on the site of the old Chicago Stadium. In March 2017, the arena also saw the addition of illuminated signs reading "Welcome to the Madhouse" on the 300 level, though these were removed after the 2012–13 season when a third panoramic LED bar was installed around that same level.

Reader's Guide

Visitors can find the United Center west of the Chicago Loop, accessible via West Madison Street, where the venue's footprint required the City of Chicago to close a section of Monroe Street. For Bulls games, the hardwood floor is laid over the ice used by the Blackhawks; this flooring is assembled like a puzzle and removed when hockey season begins. In the 2023–24 NBA season, the Bulls drew an average attendance of 20,624 across 41 home games, the highest in the NBA. The arena features distinct seating capacities: 19,717 for hockey, 20,917 for basketball, and up to 23,500 for concerts. A major upgrade occurred in 2019 with the installation of a new Mitsubishi Electric Jumbotron, which is fully digital and features a 8,600 square feet display with 4 mm pixel spacing. For those looking to visit practice facilities, The Advocate Center is located one block east for the Bulls, while the Blackhawks play at Fifth Third Arena two blocks south.

Did You Know?

• The United Center hosted the Democratic National Convention in both 1996 and 2024.
• During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the arena served as a municipal emergency hub.
• The first event held at the venue was WWF SummerSlam.
• The basketball floor for the Bulls is assembled like a puzzle over the ice used by the Blackhawks.
• In 2019, the new scoreboard became the first fully digital video board used by both the Bulls and Blackhawks.