Last Updated on June 5, 2014
By: Shanette D. Buford-Brazzell
Recently, DePaul University made the huge announcement that they are considering moving all of their Men’s Basketball home games into United Center, the home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks.
DePaul University, a NCAA Division I and Catholic University, currently plays its 16 home games at the Allstate Arena, in Rosemont, a suburban neighborhood outside of Chicago. This contract to play there runs through 2015. During the 2011-12 season Men’s Basketball home games attendance was 130,486, with an average of 7,676 spectators. The possible move to downtown Chicago will bring more spectators and increased attendance for the Blue Demons.
According to a Crain’s Chicago Business article it was reported that “the university is considering the United Center or a new facility to be built near McCormick Place.” Many people have their own opinion about the possible move of the Men’s Basketball games, while others aren’t too happy about it. The move has its pros and cons: students will have a shorter travel trip to games from their campus in Lincoln Park. The travel time from the campus to the Allstate Arena is currently twenty-seven minutes. Yet, the move to United States could decrease their commute to only eight minutes! Similarly, The Blue Demons fans and spectators from the city wouldn’t have to travel far either.
DePaul University mentioned in their strategic plan V2018 that one of their goals was to seek various opportunities to bring Men’s Basketball back into Chicago. In a recent interview with Journal Online, DePaul’s spokesman, Director of Communications for Men’s Basketball and Golf, Greg Greenwell, stated “DePaul will consider any proposal that will help us accomplish that goal”.
A spokesman from United Center confirmed that there are reports from sports facility’s owners, who had recent conversations with the university about Men’s Basketball playing games at the facility. However, there hasn’t been any confirmation from DePaul’s Athletic Director Jean Ponsetto.
Author
Related
5 Comments
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Recent Posts
- MarketPryce Partners With UCLA Women’s Basketball Team Through TikTok Challenge
- Pringles Launches Pringles NIL March Mustache Collection
- Colorado Football Sells More Than 30,000 Tickets For Its 2023 Spring Game
- How Can International Athletes Get NIL Deals? Here’s How to Do It Safely
- Degree Partners With Giannis Antetokounmpo for Walk-On NIL Deals
Mike Duffy
November 8, 2012 at 12:18 pm
I think this would be a great move for the DePaul men’s basketball program simply because the cons do not seem to add up to the pros. The shorter commute for DePaul students would undoubtedly increase the turnout of their student section and many other basketball fans throughout the city. Playing at such an iconic arena would also increase the likelihood of DePaul being able to land big-name recruits and improve their standing in the highly competitive Big East conference. Barring any financial strain this would put on the university, DePaul should push hard for this move.
Matt Schilling
November 8, 2012 at 1:46 pm
“The travel time from the campus to the Allstate Arena is currently twenty-seven minutes. Yet, the move to United States could decrease their commute to only eight minutes!” – You mean United Center right..not United States?
Pingback: DePaul Basketball Moving to Chicago « Mz. Sporty Urban Unplugged
MaconMNS
December 14, 2012 at 12:56 pm
I don’t think moving games to a professional arena will be good at all for the university. An empty arena (capacity of approx. 21,000) is very harmful at the end of the day. They would fare much better to just build a new facility closer to downtown and have an arena with their own marketing messages, corporate partnerships and locus of control.
Pingback: criminal defense attorney Rancho Cucamonga