United Center Party Bus Rentals in Chicago

The Arena Block: Madison, Damen, Wood and the Lots

The United Center occupies a large block on the Near West Side at 1901 West Madison Street. Madison runs along the north side, Damen Avenue on the west and Wood Street on the east, with the arena's lettered parking lots spreading out to the north and south of the building. Unlike Wrigley, this venue was designed around vehicles. Unlike Soldier Field, it sits within a normal street grid, a few minutes from two expressways.

A United Center party bus trip comes down to three decisions: where the group gets out, where the vehicle spends the event, and where everyone meets afterward. The answers are the same for a basketball game, a hockey game or an arena concert, and they are what this page covers.

For the evening around the event, we have separate guides. The Bulls game night page covers dinner-first evenings, client groups and youth teams. The Blackhawks game night page covers anthem timing, Madison Street bars and overtime. Concert-goers should also read the concert party bus guide.

One caution. The arena updates its parking map, drop-off zones and rideshare arrangements from time to time, and major concerts sometimes run under a modified plan. Treat this page as the general layout, and check the United Center's current parking and directions page for your event date.

Official Lots, Bus Parking and What to Confirm

The arena owns or controls most of the parking near it, and a lot of that parking is sold ahead of time to season-ticket holders and through online passes. For a bus, that leads to two possible arrangements.

Drop and go. The vehicle unloads at the permitted drop-off location, leaves the area, and comes back for a scheduled pickup. No parking pass is involved. Most groups do this, and it keeps the bus away from lot traffic after the event.

Park on site. The arena has historically designated certain lots for buses, limousines and oversize vehicles, and charged a separate rate for them. If you want the bus waiting nearby with your coats on board, confirm the following with the arena before the event:

• Which lot takes buses for your specific event, and which street the entrance is on
• Whether the pass has to be bought in advance, and whether a vehicle of your size counts as oversize
• When the lot opens, and whether vehicles can leave and come back
• Where the accessible drop-off is for guests who cannot walk the distance

A parking fee is typically the group's expense, separate from the charter, so include it in your budget. Do not count on independent cash lots in the surrounding neighborhood taking a bus, because most are sized for cars.

Tailgating is not part of this venue's culture. The lots are there for parking. If a lot party is what your group wants, the tailgating guide explains where that is possible in Chicago.

Approach Routes: The Eisenhower, the Kennedy and the Grid

Two expressways serve the arena, and which one you use decides which side you arrive on.

From the Eisenhower (I-290). The Damen and Ashland exits put you a few blocks south of the building. This is the shortest approach from the western suburbs and from the Loop by way of the Jane Byrne interchange, and it brings the vehicle up to the south lots without crossing Madison.

From the Kennedy (I-90/94). Exit at Madison or Randolph and head west. It is about a mile and a half, and it takes you through the West Loop, which is convenient if dinner comes first. Madison is the obvious street and also the slowest before an event. Drivers frequently use Washington, Warren or Adams as parallel routes, depending on how the police have set up traffic control.

From the North Side. Ashland and Damen run straight south from Lakeview, Wicker Park and Bucktown. Western Avenue is a useful way around when both are backed up.

Within an hour of the start, traffic management takes over. Officers direct vehicles at the main intersections, some turns are blocked, and the lane by the arena on Madison is kept moving. A bus cannot stop in a travel lane to let 25 people off, which is why the designated drop-off spot matters.

Allow 15 minutes for the last half mile on an event night. The route time estimator is useful for the drive in, particularly if you are picking up in the suburbs on a weekday.

West Loop Dinner Before the Event

The best logistical feature of this venue is what is next to it. Randolph Street's restaurant row and Fulton Market start about a mile east of the arena, so a group can have an excellent dinner and still reach the doors five minutes after leaving the table.

Plan the evening in two legs. On the first, the bus drops the group in the West Loop between 4:45 and 5:15. For large parties, book well ahead at the destination restaurants, such as Girl & the Goat, The Publican or Au Cheval's neighbors on Randolph, or pick a beer hall or barbecue spot that can seat a crowd without a reservation. While you eat, the driver needs a legal place to wait, and that is rarely in front of the restaurant. You will get a text from the driver saying where the bus is parked.

The second leg leaves 50 to 60 minutes before the event starts. It is a short ride, but it covers the most congested stretch of the trip.

The curbs in this neighborhood are tight. Valet zones, bike lanes and loading docks take up most of the space, and Fulton Market's cobbled side streets are difficult for a long vehicle. A mid-size bus can manage it, and a Sprinter manages it easily. Our West Loop party bus guide covers these blocks in detail and is a good source of ideas for a stop after the event.

Concert Nights vs. Game Nights

The arena hosts dozens of concerts a year in addition to its two teams. The building stays the same, but crowd behavior changes.

Arrival. Sports fans show up during the final 45 minutes. Concert crowds arrive gradually, from the time doors open through the opening act, so drop-off is more relaxed. Floor ticket holders who want a position near the stage may ask to arrive when doors open.

Departure. A game might lose a third of its crowd before the end. A concert loses almost no one, so 20,000 people leave within ten minutes of the last song. The lots and the rideshare zones are at their worst, and a pickup point a few blocks away from the arena makes the most difference on these nights.

Who books and when. In the national inquiry data we use, concert groups are smaller than sports groups and plan later. 41% of concert inquiries are for ten or fewer passengers, compared with 28% of sports inquiries, and 37% of them come in less than two weeks before the show. Sports inquiries cluster in the fall at 58%, and concert inquiries peak in the summer.

If yours is a smaller, late-planned concert group, a 14 passenger limo Sprinter or a 10 passenger black Lincoln limo is a good fit and is usually easier to find at short notice than a large bus.

Concert end times are approximate. Find the scheduled curfew or a recent set length, and set the pickup as a window.

Pickup After the Event and Choosing the Vehicle

Most plans fail after the event, and nearly always for the same reason: the group said "meet out front" at a building that has several entrances and 20,000 people leaving at once.

Pick one door and one corner. Agree in advance which exit the group will use and walk together to a named intersection two to four blocks from the arena. East along Madison toward Ashland is good for rides to downtown or the Kennedy. South toward Jackson or Van Buren is good for the Eisenhower. Send everyone a map pin before the event starts, because mobile data slows to a crawl when the building empties.

Give it 20 minutes. If the bus parked on site, it has to leave in the same line as the cars. If it was staged off site, it is heading in against the outbound traffic. In both cases, a group that walks a few blocks will be on its way before the garages have cleared.

Vehicle choice. For 12 to 18 people, the 20 passenger party bus suits the venue and the West Loop. For 20 to 26, consider the 28 passenger party bus, and plan on arterial streets for any restaurant stop. Your written quote lists what the assigned vehicle includes.

Alcohol on board is limited to passengers 21 and over and has to stay on the bus. The arena has a small-bag policy, so either leave extra items at home or leave them on a bus that is booked to wait.

Estimate cost per person with the budget calculator.