By Andrew Cunningham

Aaaaand I’m Back, Hopefully everyone is having a good semester so far. This entry is going to talk about an idea that I have for my thesis project.

Professional sports teams have been major parts of cities all over the world, they help bring a giant population of people together to cheer for the same thing.  Chicago is one of the largest city in the country and most of the sports teams have a lot of history and meaning to the city, whether it be good or bad.

The United center in Chicago, which sits in the near west side of Chicago roughly 2 miles from Union Station in downtown, is home to both the Chicago Bulls (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL). Both of the clubs are major parts of the city due to their success in their respective leagues, but unlike the rest of the major sports teams, they are so far removed from the city or their own neighborhood as in the case of the Chicago Cubs. This project is aimed to bring more attractions towards the united center to help connect it to not only the city, but its local community as well. Many sports fan enjoy going to sporting event but in today’s world tickets are so expensive that it can drive people away especially students and this project would help bring money in to the area, because even if someone is not actually going to the game, they would still be in the atmosphere of the arena and be around other people rooting for their team. It would also provide a place for visiting team fans to go during games as well. To make sure that this project is going to do what it is intended for, it is important to look at similar situations to see if the surrounding area has been improved. Wrigleyville on the north side of Chicago is important to look at because that area represents the kind of development that this project could bring to the west side of the city. There is a situation that more closely fits this project in St. Louis called Ball Park Village. It is a large building, across from where the St. Louis Cardinals play, which houses multiple restaurants and bars, and provides lots of space, as well a massive screens and projectors that show different sporting events.

Overall a multi-use development could help the area out by bringing in jobs and people. With the rising popularity of the Blackhawks and the Bulls remaining a playoff team every year, the building will be used almost every day and for 9 months out of the year.