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 Wintrust Arena in May 2018 | |
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| Address | 200 EastCermak Road |
|---|---|
| Location | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 41°51′13″N87°37′17″W / 41.85361°N 87.62139°W /41.85361; -87.62139 |
| Public transit | Green atCermak–McCormick Place ME atMcCormick 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 (2017-10-14) |
| 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 | |
| wintrustarena | |
Wintrust Arena at McCormick Square, previously referred to asDePaul Arena orMcCormick Place Events Center,[6] is a 10,387-seat sports venue in theNear South Sidecommunity area ofChicago that opened in 2017. It is the current home court for themen's andwomen's basketball teams ofDePaul University and serves as an events center forMcCormick Place. It also is the home of theChicago Sky of theWomen'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 usedAllstate Arena in suburbanRosemont since 1980—it rejected a 10-year offer in November 2012 to play rent free at theUnited 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 andWintrust.[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. TheChicago 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 theChicago Sun-Times as a 12,000-seat arena that would cost $300 million.[10] After the announcement, theChicago 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 fromMcCormick 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 theChicago City Council approved funding on July 24, 2013, theChicago 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 theChicago Public Schools.[14][15] TheChicago 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 MayorRahm Emanuel, officials fromDePaul University andMcCormick 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 ofCermak Road and Indiana Avenue and expected to be completed at some time in 2017.[19] At the time, the DePaul Athletics department expected the2017–18 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.
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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 withWintrust 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 theChicago Sky to play their home games at the arena starting with all 17 home games for the2018 WNBA season after having played the previous eight seasons at Allstate Arena.[2] The arena's first event was a concert byREO Speedwagon on September 25 that was reserved for attendees of the annual convention of theTrue 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 DePaulmen's andwomen's teams.[24] The first major public event (a concert featuringBob Dylan andMavis Staples) took place on October 27.[25] By that time, the arena had been announced as the host of theBig East women's basketball tournament for 2018–2020.[26]
The arena was used for someJunior Basketball Association games for the inaugural2018 JBA season, especially some games holding theChicago Ballers franchise. However, it did not hold the 2018 JBA All-Star Event/Game.
The arena housed the primary panel stage for theStar Wars Celebration held in Chicago in 2019.[27] From the stage in the arena, cast and crew revealed first looks at franchise productions includingStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker andThe Mandalorian, and featured celebrity guests includingStephen Colbert,J. J. Abrams,Daisy Ridley,Billy Dee Williams,Jon Favreau, andPedro Pascal.
MayorLori Lightfoot was inaugurated at the arena on May 20, 2019.[28]
On February 14, 2020, the arena hosted the 2020NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.[29]
On February 29, 2020, the arena hosted anAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) event,Revolution.[30]
In October 2021, Wintrust Arena hosted Games 3 and 4 of theWNBA Finals, during which the Chicago Sky defeated thePhoenix 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 showsAEW Dynamite andAEW Rampage.[32][33] It hosted the event as annual tradition from 2021 to 2024.[34][35][36][37] In 2025, the Thanksgiving and Black Friday episodes were moved to The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee, ending Chicago tradition.
On February 5, 2022, the arena hosted a high school basketball game between two of the top-ranked teams in the country, #14Sierra Canyon fromChatsworth, California (21-3) and #19Glenbard West fromGlen 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.
From May 12-May 19, 2024, the arena hosted theNBA draft combine.
On November 29, 2025,Real American Freestyle will presentRAF 03 from the arena, an event that will be broadcast live onFox Nation.[38]
| Tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Home ofChicago Sky 2018 – present | Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by | Home ofDePaul Blue Demons men's basketball 2018 – present | Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by | Home ofDePaul Blue Demons women's basketball 2018 – present | Succeeded by current |