United Center

This may be a great place for a game, but they do not treat concert attendees very well. I'm sure Muse is not the only band that gets people excited enough to line up all  day for a show, and the United Center is an unpleasant place to do this, especially when compared to the Target Center in Minneapolis.  I can see perhaps the venue was not built properly to allow for indoor queuing, but was it really necessary to move us from a dry sidewalk to  an icy un-shovelled one?

One aspect that is not the venue's fault is the sorry state of the neighborhood; it is quite a hike from the queuing area to any place with an acceptable toilet or food,and there is not much nearby for post-concert  refreshment.  However, given this situation, maybe the United Center could figure out some way to let people lining up all day use their restrooms.

We also had trouble with the box office. They had no understanding of the different kinds of tickets for the Muse gig on 3/4/13, and it took us until mid-afternoon to convince them to release our will call tickets. It would have been disastrous if this had to be done closer to the time the doors opened.

When it finally was time to open the doors, some order prevailed, though there was a lot of stress before that because people arriving did not understand where the general admission line was.

Muse was great  and I still enjoyed the show,and the one thing the United Center does have on Target Center is better acoustics. However, I feel the UC staff treated us like annoying livestock instead of valued guests. Though I have family in Chicagoland, making this an easy trip for me, I find myself wishing Muse would play at another venue.

The United Center.  The UC.  The Madhouse on Madison. Home of the Blackhawks and the Bulls.  Despite being a former north-sider(I'm now one of those suburbanites), I haven't been to a Cubs game, but I have been to the Cell, and to the UC for both Bulls and Hawks games, and finally, a UFC event.  The most memorable times I've had at sporting events have all been at the United Center.  

Chicago Bulls 1995-1996.  That's right, the 72-10 season.  My dad got us tickets to a game and wouldn't you know it?  We happened to be at the first home loss, one out of only 2 at home that season.  That was not cool.  Jordan scored 40, and they lost anyway.  To the Hornets.  To the Hornets with the old man Robert Parrish starting at center.  Anyways......

UFC at the UC.  MMA at the United Center?  Despite the moronic noob fan a couple of rows behind us touting the merits of "one-legged defense", it was great watching UFC on FOX 2 live and in person.  

Countless games pre DRose era, before I lost interest in the game due to the amount of flopping.  I hate that.  Be a man.  One of my favorite memories then was Luol Deng's rookie season, when he took off from inside the free throw line and dunked on 2 dudes.  Another one was Tyson Chandler swatting a weak attempt at the basket and the ball he swatted totally hit a fan in the face.  

Numerous Hawks games, but the absolute best was sitting in a suite for a Hawks game on my birthday.  Different food service each intermission, and a dessert cart for the 3rd period?  That was the pinnacle of them all.  Oh, and the Hawks destroyed the Blues 4-2 that day.  

I know it's not the old Stadium, but you still get a sense of what the Bulls and the Blackhawks really mean to Chicago when you look up at the rafters and see all the banners and retired jerseys.  

I've sat on each tier of seats from 100 to the very last row before standing room only and I can honestly say I've never had a bad seat.  The food is good, though overpriced but really, what do you expect?  It's like eating at the airport, except the service is better.

Come and see Stan Mikita/Bobby Hull/Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen statues.  Free photo op!  Make your best Air face!  Stick your tongue out!  Look silly while others wait their turn to also look silly!

Parking is easy enough with a number of surface lots at your disposal, and theres almost always a spot somewhere. You'll spend $20 for parking adjacent to the stadium, or $10-15 for the lots across the street.  

Overall, a great place to make memories, or to watch history in the making.  Here's hoping the Hawks don't scrub a great start and end up taking home the Cup.

Oh and hopefully the Bulls can do something next season, though I'm not holding my breath.

Went to the United Center for a Hawks game recently. Limited complaints here.

The venue has ample bathrooms that are easy and quick to get to, plenty of beer and food stands and is relatively easy to get in and out of pre and post game. The night we went the place was packed, but never felt claustrophobic.

The 2 small complaints I have are 1. that the seat space is limited. When I found myself sitting next to someone on the bigger side I felt squeezed out and 2. traffic could be routed better around the venue.