- Address: 1901 West Madison Street, Chicago
- Country: United States
- Capacity: 20,000
- Opened: 18 August 1994
- Main use: Basketball, ice hockey
- Tenants: Chicago Blackhawks (ice hockey), Chicago Bulls (basketball)
Extra stadium info – United Center
The construction of the arena started in 1992 and its construction costs were $175 million. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is nicknamed Madhouse on Madison. It is known as a venue for several events, like basketball, boxing, concerts, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, political events, rodeo, tennis and wrestling. In 2018, the United Center hosted the second edition of the Laver Cup. The Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer and Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios from Australia were the first tennis players to confirm their participation in the competition.
The Blackhawks and the Bulls
The Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bulls use the United Center for home games. The United Center has been the home of the Bulls since 1994. The Blackhawks moved to the arena in 1995. The Chicago Blackhawks play in the National Hockey League and the Chicago Bulls joined the National Basketball Association. The Bulls became the first club which plays its home games at the United Center with a value of at least $1 billion, followed by the Blackhawks. The Chicago Blackhawks ice hockey club was founded in 1926. They won the Stanley Cup in 1934 for the first time in their history. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup several times. The Chicago Bulls basketball club, one of the first sports clubs with 10 million followers on its main social media page, was founded in 1966.
Michael Jordan and a record-breaking match
Michael Jordan is a former player of the Chicago Bulls. He is regarded as one of the best basketball players ever. Michael Jeffrey Jordan, who was born in New York in 1963, is nicknamed Air Jordan or His Airness. He won the NBA six times with the Bulls. Jordan won his first NBA championship title in 1991. He won the title after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers from California with the Chicago Bulls. On 27 March 1998, Michael Jordan played in a game which became the best-attended NBA game of all time. 62,000 people attended the match, which ended in a victory for the Chicago Bulls. They defeated the Atlanta Hawks in the game, which took place in Atlanta. Michael Jordan ended his professional basketball career with the Washington Wizards of the NBA in 2003.
Statues
An iconic statue of Michael Jeffrey Jordan can be found at the United Center. The statue of the basketball legend is also known as The Spirit. Originally located outside the arena named United Center, it now stands inside the venue. Several statues of former ice hockey players who played for the Chicago Blackhawks can be found on walking distance of the statue of Michael Jordan.
Space Jam
Michael Jeffrey Jordan featured in Space Jam, a world famous movie with animation sequences. Several former NBA players featured in Space Jam. The movie, which released in 1996, stars Michael Jordan as a fictional version of himself. In the movie, Jordan is enlisted by Looney Tunes characters to help them win a basketball game against aliens who intend to enslave them.
