The Chicago Bulls officially broke ground Monday on a new, state-of-the-art practice facility that will be built across the street from the United Center.
The facility will be located in Parking Lot J, which sits just east of the arena between Monroe and Madison Street on Wood Street.
The new digs will not only be more convenient for some of the players who live in the city (cough, cough, Derrick Rose), but at Monday's ceremony, Mayor Rahm Emanuel touted the economic boost it will bring to the West Side.
"It's this types of investment that started with the United Center 20 years ago, that spurs a series of public and private investments that have turned the Near West Side into an economic opportunity for the entire city, commercially and residentially," Rahm said.
The $25 million facility will be 60,000 square feet and is expected to be finished in time for the start of the 2014-15 NBA season.
The Bulls have been practicing since 1992 in Deerfield at the Sheri L. Berto Center. They are currently looking to sell the 35,000-square-foot building in the neighborhood of $5 million.
Their new facility won’t be called the Berto Center as the team plans to sell naming rights that could net the franchise around $1 million annually.
