Location | 200 East Cermak Road, Chicago, Illinois 60616 |
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Coordinates | 41°51′13″N87°37′17″W / 41.85361°N 87.62139°W |
Public transit | at Cermak–McCormick Place |
Owner | Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority [1] |
Operator | Oak View Group [1] |
Capacity | 10,387 [2] |
Construction | |
Broke ground | November 16, 2015 |
Opened | October 14, 2017 |
Construction cost | $173 million [1] |
Architect | Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects [1] [3] Moody Nolan (architect of record) AECOM (sports architect) |
Services engineer | IMEG Corp. [4] |
General contractor | Clark Construction [5] |
Tenants | |
DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball (NCAA) (2017–present) DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball (NCAA) (2017–present) Chicago Sky (WNBA) (2018–present) | |
Website | |
https://wintrustarena.com/ |
Wintrust Arena at McCormick Square, previously referred to as DePaul Arena or McCormick Place Events Center, [6] is a 10,387-seat sports venue in the Near South Side community area of Chicago that opened in 2017. It is the current home court for the men's and women's basketball teams of DePaul University and serves as an events center for McCormick Place. It also is the home of the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). [7]
The arena was announced in May 2013, with construction planned to begin in 2014, and use expected to begin with the 2016–17 season. [8] The start of construction was delayed to November 2015, with completion delayed until the 2017–18 season. Although DePaul had been seeking a new home arena—it had used Allstate Arena in suburban Rosemont since 1980—it rejected a 10-year offer in November 2012 to play rent free at the United Center. [8] Instead, DePaul planned to use Allstate Arena on a recurring one-year basis until it had a new home. [8] On November 16, 2016, DePaul and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA or "McPier") announced that the new event center at McCormick Square would be called Wintrust Arena. The announcement came after the signing of a letter of intent that contemplated a definitive 15-year sponsorship agreement between DePaul and Wintrust. [9]
At the outset there were two different interpretations of the planned venue. ESPN has interpreted the plan as a 10,000-seat arena with a cost to tax payers of $103 million and total cost of $175 million. The Chicago Sun-Times has interpreted the plan as a 12,000-seat arena with public funding of $125 million out of a total spend $300 million.
Before the actual announcement, the arena was publicized by the Chicago Sun-Times as a 12,000-seat arena that would cost $300 million. [10] After the announcement, the Chicago Sun-Times reported an expected 12,000-seat venue, but with $125 million coming from public funds. [11]
Upon announcement, ESPN reported the expected cost of the 10,000-seat arena, located on Cermak Road between Indiana and Prairie Avenue, across the street from McCormick Place was $173 million. [8] The funding came from three sources: $70 million from the university, $70 million from a McPier bond fund, and $33 million from public taxes (i.e., $103 million from public funds). [8] It was built to host concerts, conventions, and other events in addition to DePaul Basketball games. [12] As the building approached completion, its capacity was announced as 10,387 seats for basketball. [2]
The decision for public participation in the funding of DePaul's athletic facility was controversial because it was announced six days prior to the Board of Education's decision to close 50 public schools due to a $1 billion deficit. [13] When the Chicago City Council approved funding on July 24, 2013, the Chicago Reader reported the vote as though money was taken from the schools and spent on the arena because the spending plan included $68 million in budget cuts for the Chicago Public Schools. [14] [15] The Chicago Tribune revealed that the land for the project had not yet been acquired four days after the City Hall funding vote. [16]
On November 16, 2015, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, officials from DePaul University and McCormick Place attended the ceremonial groundbreaking for the center. [17] [18] At the time of the groundbreaking, the construction was expected to result in a 10,000-seat venue at the corner of Cermak Road and Indiana Avenue and expected to be completed at some time in 2017. [19] At the time, the DePaul Athletics department expected the 2017–18 DePaul Blue Demons to be able to host their season opener at the venue, [20] but the venue was expected to double as an events center for McCormick Place. [18] The Center was expected to create 7,400 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent jobs. [18]
The city issued a "new construction" building permit to McPier on March 23, 2016, [21] for the full building. Previously issued permits allowed the construction of foundations and shear walls.
After being referred to as both DePaul Arena and McCormick Place Events Center, [19] MPEA and DePaul announced a 15-year naming rights agreement for the complex with Wintrust Financial under the name Wintrust Arena on November 16, 2016. [22]
On July 25, 2017, MPEA announced that it had reached a five-year agreement with the Chicago Sky to play their home games at the arena starting with all 17 home games for the 2018 WNBA season after having played the previous eight seasons at Allstate Arena. [2] The arena's first event was a concert by REO Speedwagon on September 25 that was reserved for attendees of the annual convention of the True Value hardware company. [23] The opening ceremony was held on October 14, 2017, with the event also featuring the season-opening practices for the 2017–18 DePaul men's and women's teams. [24] The first major public event (a concert featuring Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples) took place on October 27. [25] By that time, the arena had been announced as the host of the Big East women's basketball tournament for 2018–2020. [26]
The arena was used for some Junior Basketball Association games for the inaugural 2018 JBA season, especially some games holding the Chicago Ballers franchise. However, it did not hold the 2018 JBA All-Star Event/Game.
The arena housed the primary panel stage for the Star Wars Celebration held in Chicago in 2019. [27] From the stage in the arena, cast and crew revealed first looks at franchise productions including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian , and featured celebrity guests including Stephen Colbert, J. J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley, Billy Dee Williams, Jon Favreau, and Pedro Pascal.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was inaugurated at the arena on May 20, 2019. [28]
On February 14, 2020, the arena hosted the 2020 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. [29]
On February 29, 2020, the arena hosted an All Elite Wrestling (AEW) event, Revolution. [30]
In October 2021, Wintrust Arena hosted Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals, during which the Chicago Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury to capture the team's first championship. [31] Both home games featured sell-out capacity crowds of 10,387.
On November 24, 2021, AEW returned to the arena to film that week's special Thanksgiving and Black Friday episodes of their weekly television shows AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage . [32] [33] It was announced after the show concluded, by CEO Tony Khan and CM Punk, that AEW's weekly shows will return to the Wintrust Arena annually for the Thanksgiving week. As of 2023, this tradition remains.
On February 5, 2021, the arena hosted a high school basketball game between two of the top-ranked teams in the country, #14 Sierra Canyon from Chatsworth, California (21-3) and #19 Glenbard West from Glen Ellyn, Illinois (26-0). A total of nearly 10,000 fans watched the game. Sierra Canyon beat Glenbard West 67-64 on a last second buzzer beater by Dylan Metoyer.
Navy Pier is a 3,300-foot-long (1,010 m) pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over 50 acres (20 ha) of shops, restaurants, live theaters, family attractions, parks, gardens, and exhibition facilities and is one of the top destinations in the Midwestern United States, drawing over nine million visitors annually. It is one of the most visited attractions in the entire Midwest and is Chicago's second-most visited tourist attraction.
McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. It consists of four interconnected buildings and one indoor arena sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about 2 mi (3.2 km) south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. McCormick Place hosts numerous trade shows and meetings. The largest regular events are the Chicago Auto Show each February, the International Home and Housewares Show each March, the National Restaurant Association Annual Show each May, and the International Manufacturing Technology Show in the fall every other year.
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league composed of 12 teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All Star game being played midway through the season in July and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October.
Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, has held the naming rights to the arena since its opening.
DePaul University is a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Catholic university in terms of enrollment in North America. Following in the footsteps of its founders, DePaul places special emphasis on recruiting first-generation students and others from disadvantaged backgrounds.
United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named after its corporate sponsor United Airlines, which has been based in Chicago since 2007 and has a hub at O'Hare International Airport. With a capacity of nearly 21,000, the United Center is the largest arena by capacity in the NBA, and second largest arena by capacity in the NHL. It also has a seating capacity of 23,500 for concerts.
State Farm Arena is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Atlanta Hawks. It also served as home to the National Hockey League's Atlanta Thrashers from 1999 to 2011, before the team moved to Winnipeg, as well as the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s Atlanta Dream from 2008 to 2016 and 2019, and the temporary Home of the Georgia Tech Basketball in 2011. It opened in 1999 at a cost of $213.5 million, replacing the Omni Coliseum. It is owned by the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority and operated by the Hawks, owned by Tony Ressler along with a group of investors including Grant Hill.
Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Rosemont, Illinois, United States, northwest of Chicago, located at the corner of Mannheim Road and Lunt Avenue, just north of Mannheim Road's interchange with the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of O'Hare International Airport. The facility opened in 1980 as the Rosemont Horizon and seats 17,500 for basketball and 16,692 for ice hockey.
The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. The Sky experienced a period of success from 2013 to 2016, making four playoff appearances and playing in the 2014 WNBA Finals. They experienced a second period of success starting in 2019 and won their first championship in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
Alumni Hall was a 5,308-seat multi-purpose arena in Chicago on DePaul's Lincoln Park campus.
Addition Financial Arena is a sports and entertainment arena located near Orlando in Orange County, Florida, United States, on the main campus of the University of Central Florida. It was constructed beginning in 2006 as a replacement for the original UCF arena, and as a part of Knights Plaza. The arena is home to the UCF Knights men's and women's basketball teams. The arena also hosted the annual Science Olympiad in 2012 and 2014.
The Sullivan Athletic Center is an athletic facility on the campus of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The facility houses McGrath-Phillips Arena, a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena.
Sports in Chicago include many professional sports teams. Chicago is one of eleven U.S. cities to have teams from the five major American professional team sports. Chicago has been named as the "Best Sports City" by Sporting News three times: 1993, 2006, and 2010.
The DePaul Blue Demons are the athletic teams that represent DePaul University, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Blue Demons participate in NCAA Division I and are a member of the Big East Conference.
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, commonly known as MPEA or McPier, is a corporation that owns Navy Pier and McCormick Place in Chicago. It also manages the city's collection of taxes for vehicles picking up passengers for O'Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport.
The DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball program is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The team competes in the Big East Conference. DePaul's last NCAA tournament victory was in 2004. DePaul's NCAA tournament record since the end of the 1991–92 season is 1–2, spanning the last 30 tournaments played.
The DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball program is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's basketball program of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The team competes in the Big East Conference.
The 2016–17 DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball team represented DePaul University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Blue Demons, led by 31st year head coach Doug Bruno, played their home games at the McGrath–Phillips Arena as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 27–8, 16–2 in Big East play to win the Big East regular season title. They advanced to the championship game of the Big East women's tournament where they lost to Marquette. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they defeated Northern Iowa in the first round before losing to Mississippi State in the second round.
The 2017–18 DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball team represents DePaul University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Blue Demons, led by thirty-second year head coach Doug Bruno, play their home games at the Wintrust Arena. They were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 27–8, 15–3 in Big East play to share the Big East regular season title with Marquette. They won the Big East women's tournament by defeating Marquette in the championship game. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they defeated Oklahoma in the first round before losing to Texas A&M in the second round.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Minnesota Lynx are the defending champions. The regular season began on May 18, with the Phoenix Mercury hosting the Dallas Wings. The season ended with the Seattle Storm defeating the Washington Mystics 3-0 in the WNBA Finals. This was the third championship for the Storm. Seattle's Breanna Stewart was named regular season and finals MVP.
Tenants | ||
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Preceded by | Home of Chicago Sky 2018 – present | Succeeded by current |
Preceded by | Home of DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball 2018 – present | Succeeded by current |
Preceded by | Home of DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball 2018 – present | Succeeded by current |