Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus "won't return" to United Center after this month's two-week stay, and Disney on Ice, which forces the Bulls and Blackhawks to "take another extended trip in February, will have its UC shows condensed to a one-week run" beginning in '18, according to Chris Kuc of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The disruption in the schedule has "often proved problematic as the teams endure grueling trips that have had negative impacts on their seasons." United Center Senior VP/Operations Terry Savarise said, "The reason we're doing this is twofold. One is that in future years the Bulls and Blackhawks no longer have to endure two two-week road trips, and a subset of that is that those trips had resulted in a compression of our home schedules. There were times when you'd have four home games in a one-week period, which fans didn't like." So that means "one final circus trip" for the Blackhawks. The "season-high seven-game trip begins" today in Winnipeg (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/15).
END OF AN ERA: The decision to shorten the Disney on Ice schedule hits home for the Wirtz family, which owns the Blackhawks. Owner Rocky Wirtz' late grandfather, Arthur, started the ice show concept about 80 years ago. He formed the Hollywood Ice Capades at the old Chicago Stadium in '37, a touring production headlined by Gold Medal-winning Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie and featuring other Olympic skating stars. To honor her legacy, the Blackhawks named VIP spaces the Sonja Henie Room at both Chicago Stadium and United Center (Don Muret, Staff Writer).
