The Bulls and Blackhawks on Thursday said that the two clubs "will move ahead with building an office complex next to the United Center," and the Blackhawks "will look into acquiring enough nearby property to also build a two-rink practice facility on the Near West Side," according to John Byrne of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Blackhawks Chair Rocky Wirtz said that the team "doesn't currently control all the land needed for the practice facility, and he said he expects the city to help it acquire some property from private owners." Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel at Thursday's news conference "did not specify what help the city will give." But Emanuel said that an "extension of property tax breaks" for United Center that Bulls Chair Jerry Reinsdorf and Wirtz "had sought as a condition for their new investment in the area is off the table." Emanuel said that the city's investment "will come in the form of infrastructure improvements in the vicinity." Reinsdorf and Wirtz "had spoken of developing" a $100M entertainment and retail complex next to the arena, but said that "project would need to be accompanied by a revision in the property tax formula" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/23).
STATUE OF LIMITATIONS? THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE notes renderings for the proposed office building outside United Center show the "iconic" statue of Basketball HOFer Michael Jordan "residing inside the building’s atrium lobby outside a team store." The statue "draws tourists and fans from around the world -- and at all hours of the day and night -- in its current location near the Lot H parking lot." A Bulls spokesperson said that the statue "will be relocated temporarily to the southeast corner of the United Center during construction, allowing the public to retain unfettered access to them." But that kind of access "may not be permanent" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/23).
