Submitted by Local Tourist on January 5, 2011 - 5:40pm
The United Center is my favorite place to catch an NBA and NHL game. I am a b-ball fan first, and I always get a nostalgic feel when the lights go off and the player introductions go on. For all you Jordan era bulls fans this video can help you re-live that experience.
Ok, enough about the glory days of the Bulls. Let's breakdown a day spent at United Center. The biggest and most annoying part of your experience will be United Center parking. Traffic is congested as you come off of I-94. Every person takes Madison to the stadium, so expect that street to be a mess. You will experience long lines and annoying United Center parking attendants who will stand in the middle of the street trying to waive you in for parking. It's $20 for the "Official United Center Parking" which is right across the street from the arena and run by the United Center. All spots are easy out, but the lot gets really busy when people are exiting, so make sure you are closest to Madison if possible. You're other paid options are the $17 and $18 lots where you will be packed in like sardines and treated rudely by ornery parking attendants. I've had a really bad experience with these lots, and I even had to go as far as demanding to exit their lot and get a refund because they had been such jerks.
The best parking option I have come across at the United Center so far is the plentiful amount of FREE SPACES in the local neighborhood. I've been completely baffled by how many people just hand over cash, are packed in, when they could be parking for free on a well lit street that is only a block and half from the stadium. In fact, I came across a cool United Center parking map of all the free parking spaces near the United Center. The link below shows all the surrounding streets within walking distance to the United Center, and the free spaces are shown by red lines.
Now that you have parked, time to get to the stadium. Right outside the east entrance of the arena (on Madison) is the sculpture of Michael Jordan soaring through the air. If you're bringing people in town, or just want a cool Facebook picture, it worth taking one in front of the statue.
The inside of the arena is fantastic. The first and mezzanine levels have perfect spots to watch a game. Any seat in these levels will be perfect unless you are right behind the basket. As a preference, I like to watch games from the side, but it all boils down to what you want. You look up and see the 6 NBA championship banners, and the newest 2010 NHL Championship banner. The seats are nice and comfortable and should be able to fit most people. The building itself is a lot more vertical than it is wide, so you always feel like you are on top of the action.
As you get into the 300 level (the highest level), you start getting pretty far from the action. A friend of mine has a company skybox at center court that sits in the highest row of the 300 level. The seats are very Spartan, they take a while to get to, and it looks like you're playing NBA 2K11 from a birds eye view, rather than watching the game. He loves the seats and takes me for free, so I'm not going to complain. I would suggest however, if you want to experience the game, go only as high as the first few rows in the 300 level.
In terms of food and drinks, it's pretty much standard. You're gonna pay at least $5 for anything, and you will probably get charged if you want cheese on your nachos. I'm sure people in the luxury suites get quality food, but my paychecks and contacts are not good enough yet to get me into those situations. If you do however want to be a nice person and invite me along, I will most happily oblige.
In summary, the United Center is a fantastic place to catch a game. I suggest park for free, get a pic with the Jordan statue, get a seat no higher than the first few rows in the 300 level and you should be as good as gold.
Review of United Center
The United Center is my
The United Center is my favorite place to catch an NBA and NHL game. I am a b-ball fan first, and I always get a nostalgic feel when the lights go off and the player introductions go on. For all you Jordan era bulls fans this video can help you re-live that experience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYFlzJyxWlw
Ok, enough about the glory days of the Bulls. Let's breakdown a day spent at United Center. The biggest and most annoying part of your experience will be United Center parking. Traffic is congested as you come off of I-94. Every person takes Madison to the stadium, so expect that street to be a mess. You will experience long lines and annoying United Center parking attendants who will stand in the middle of the street trying to waive you in for parking. It's $20 for the "Official United Center Parking" which is right across the street from the arena and run by the United Center. All spots are easy out, but the lot gets really busy when people are exiting, so make sure you are closest to Madison if possible. You're other paid options are the $17 and $18 lots where you will be packed in like sardines and treated rudely by ornery parking attendants. I've had a really bad experience with these lots, and I even had to go as far as demanding to exit their lot and get a refund because they had been such jerks.
The best parking option I have come across at the United Center so far is the plentiful amount of FREE SPACES in the local neighborhood. I've been completely baffled by how many people just hand over cash, are packed in, when they could be parking for free on a well lit street that is only a block and half from the stadium. In fact, I came across a cool United Center parking map of all the free parking spaces near the United Center. The link below shows all the surrounding streets within walking distance to the United Center, and the free spaces are shown by red lines.
http://blog.spothero.com/2010/12/free-united-center-parking-chicago-bull...
Now that you have parked, time to get to the stadium. Right outside the east entrance of the arena (on Madison) is the sculpture of Michael Jordan soaring through the air. If you're bringing people in town, or just want a cool Facebook picture, it worth taking one in front of the statue.
The inside of the arena is fantastic. The first and mezzanine levels have perfect spots to watch a game. Any seat in these levels will be perfect unless you are right behind the basket. As a preference, I like to watch games from the side, but it all boils down to what you want. You look up and see the 6 NBA championship banners, and the newest 2010 NHL Championship banner. The seats are nice and comfortable and should be able to fit most people. The building itself is a lot more vertical than it is wide, so you always feel like you are on top of the action.
As you get into the 300 level (the highest level), you start getting pretty far from the action. A friend of mine has a company skybox at center court that sits in the highest row of the 300 level. The seats are very Spartan, they take a while to get to, and it looks like you're playing NBA 2K11 from a birds eye view, rather than watching the game. He loves the seats and takes me for free, so I'm not going to complain. I would suggest however, if you want to experience the game, go only as high as the first few rows in the 300 level.
In terms of food and drinks, it's pretty much standard. You're gonna pay at least $5 for anything, and you will probably get charged if you want cheese on your nachos. I'm sure people in the luxury suites get quality food, but my paychecks and contacts are not good enough yet to get me into those situations. If you do however want to be a nice person and invite me along, I will most happily oblige.
In summary, the United Center is a fantastic place to catch a game. I suggest park for free, get a pic with the Jordan statue, get a seat no higher than the first few rows in the 300 level and you should be as good as gold.