Various influential people have been in discussions with officials at DePaul about where their basketball team is going to play after their All-State arena lease expires in 2015. Chicago Business has a juicy article and video providing the latest:
It's definitely a good place to be in from DePaul's perspective. Most interestingly is how it appears to be pitting the mayor and governor against two of Chicago sports most powerful people (Jerry Reinsdorf - owner of the Bulls/Sox and Rocky Wirtz - owner of the Blackhawks). Should be interesting to see how this plays out.
According to the article DePaul is apparently leaning towards the option to have it's own stadium in our neighborhood::
The owners of the United Center have offered DePaul University 10 years free rent and a court-full of other perks if they'll move Blue Demons basketball games to the United Center, according to sources close to the matter.
But DePaul reportedly still is leaning toward an alternate location, a new arena that would be built for it near McCormick Place, even though the school would have to come up with a reported $75 million toward construction costs.
That's the latest in the fast-moving story about the all-out competition to lure the Blue Demons from where they now play in Rosemont — a competition in which Gov. Pat Quinn has joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel in playing a key behind-the-scenes role.So what will the impact be on the Sloop. From what we can tell it would probably be positive. As we continue to say, the more people in the neighborhood, the more businesses will spring up and the more amenities the neighborhood will have.
From a political standpoint, it's clear that the Mayor and Governor see this as a way to bolster Motor Row and the broader McCormick Place business.
So what can you as a Slooper do? Make your voice heard. Luckily the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance has a survey that they want residents to fill out. We've taken the survey and recommend that you do to.
