The United Center opened in 1994 and replaced the Chicago Stadium, which was located across the street. The United Center was named after its corporate sponsor United Airlines, which has been based in Chicago since 2007. The facility has a seating capacity of nearly 21,000 for basketball games, making it the largest arena by capacity in the NBA. For hockey games, it has a capacity of 19,717 (standing room to at least 22,428), making it the second largest arena by capacity in the NHL. It also has a seating capacity of 23,500 for concerts.

The nearest airport is Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which is about 10 miles away. Unfortunately, you cannot currently fly direct into this airport from London so if you wanted to avoid multi-flight journeys the better option is to use Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), which is about 18 miles away and has several airlines flying into it directly from London.

If you are already in the US and looking to travel to/from Chicago, then you have the choice of most US domestic airlines including Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Eagle, Frontier Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airways and WestJet.

You can take the bus, train, or Chicago ‘L’ to get to the United Center. Bus route 20 stops at Madison & United Center, which is a 3-minute walk from the arena. Route 50 stops at Damen & Adams (North), which is a 7-minute walk.

If you prefer to take the train, you can take the MD-N, MD-W, RI, UP-NW, or UP-W lines. The Chicago ‘L’ also has two lines that stop near the United Center: The Blue Line and Green Line.

Rideshare services such as Uber or Lyft are also available in the vicinity.

West Loop is a popular neighbourhood known for its food scene. It is home to many of the city’s hottest restaurants, including several Michelin-starred establishments. The neighbourhood is near to the United Center, making it a convenient place to stay when visiting the arena. Wicker Park is a neighbourhood known for its hipster culture, art community, nightlife, and food scene. It is located west of the Kennedy Expressway, east of Humboldt Park, and south of the Bloomingdale Trail.

Beyond the Airbnb and Sonder options there are many hotels nearby to suit all budgets, which can be booked directly or via one of the hotel reservation booking sites.

The Chicago Blackhawks sell their tickets via Ticketmaster.

The official ticket partner for the NHL is Ticketmaster.

Here are links to the main ticket resale sites. Click on the link, which will open up a new window, and you can compare the prices on the different ticket resell sites, bearing in mind that the prices shown are before the selling platform fees are added, so take time to have a read of my tips to Buying Tickets in North America.

• SeatGeek
• SportsEvents365 (Click on the Search Button)
• StubHub International
• StubHub US
• Ticketmaster US
• TicketNetwork
• Viagogo
• Vivid Seats

I recommend downloading the team’s Mobile App to your phone as it contains much Gameday information for the stadium.