United Center — Attraction in West Chicago Township

Misleading Seat Views & Obstructed Stage — Disappointing Experience

I recently attended the Enhypen concert at the United Center in Chicago and unfortunately this was most frustrating seating experiences I’ve ever had.

I’ve been to this venue before (back in 2019 for the SuperM concert) and remembered screens were positioned good for those sitting to the side of the stage. When buying tickets this time, I specifically checked “A View From My Seat” and looked at photos from other attendees in my section. Those photos showed either an open stage or side-angled screens that made it possible to see everything. Based on that and pictures I already had from being there last time, so I was content on keeping my seat. (Section 233)

Before even going to my seat, I actually had a bad feeling and tried to upgrade my ticket . I recently discovered on TikTok that you can upgrade seats. But the venue was not offering upgrades that night. So I had to keep my ticket.

When I got to my seat, I was shocked and disappointed. There were no angled side screens at all. Instead, all the large screens faced straight forward , and there were massive black vertical screens/structures blocking a huge portion of the view. These completely obstructed the side sections from seeing large parts of the performance.

During the show, Enhypen performed several songs (at least three full performances) entirely behind these black vertical screen/structures. From our section, we could not see the members at all for those songs. Even when they moved forward a bit, it was still partially blocked. I estimate we missed about 40% of the show due to these obstructions.

It feels extremely unfair and greedy that these tickets were sold at full price when the view was knowingly obstructed. The seat-view photos online were not an accurate reflection of what we actually experienced, making this feel like false advertising. I left the concert feeling disappointed and frustrated, and I believe fans in these sections deserve at least a partial refund.

Bottom line: If you are buying tickets for a side section at United Center, be aware that you may have a significantly obstructed view without angled screens to help — especially if the stage design uses tall side screens that block sightlines. I would never purchase these...

Arena Tour Series (United Center), Part 1

“Everybody was Kung Fu fighting (huh!). Those cats were fast as lightning (ha!). In fact, it was a little bit frightening (huh!). But they did it with expert timing (ha!).” 🥋 Carl Douglas

The tone for this hockey game was set during the pre-game announcements when fans were told that they must contribute if @nhlblackhawks were to be assured of a victory.

Many of the fans took this to heart and one sitting below us levied nearly continuous abuse of the glass separating him from the combatants. Based upon his body language I’m guessing that his comments were not affirming of the opposing players or the refs. 😳

While there was occasional booing for some of the penalty calls, the loudest boos initially seemed to be because there hadn’t been a fight...yet. Well it wasn’t too long before it was time to rumble! 🤜🤛

While the first fight was a little lackluster, the title bout lasted so long we thought there might be a 3rd intermission! 🤕 I learned that the quality of a hockey fight is also judged by the players and both teams applauded with their sticks when this one finally drew to a close. 👏

Also worthy of applause was @anthem_singer for his performance of the national anthem! 👍

Although this was just our 6th NHL game, we have a suggestion for @nhl to make these contests even more exciting. We noticed that just prior to each period the referees skated about the rink with great enthusiasm. Well how about sending out just one more ref than is needed each time and having them all duke it out Gladiator style to determine which one is benched for that period? C’mon, you gotta know that would take things next level and the crowd would go bananas! 🤯

We were impressed with the fully enclosed Uber Zone across the street from the arena which had us on the way back to our hotel within approximately 10 minutes of our arrival.

Visiting from San Diego we thought it pretty hilarious when the announcer proclaimed excitedly, “For the 1st time in the last 72 hours we’ve gotten up to 3 degrees here in Chicago!” 🤣

And that’s…Henry’s...

Visited on March 19th for the Olivia Rodrigo GUTS World Tour. We parked in Lot K and arrived at 5:15 even though the ticket said 5:30 entrance. They opened the gate when I pulled up so we got an amazing parking spot. The men helping guide us to our spot were frustrating though, the parking lot was empty and then were yelling "over here, right here" over and over again while I was clearly driving to them. I started to get the impression that they wanted me to drive THROUGH the lot, crossing parking spots, which I don't believe in doing so I continued driving there properly. We walked around a bit looking at the merch truck and looking for the walk-on tour bus (as advertised on Instagram) and could not find it. Later I found out that it was on the opposite side of the building 😭 and they gave away free trading cards. We waited in line from about 5:50-6:05 and the wind made it a little cold. When we entered we went through security and the employees were really nice and helpful. We made it to the upstairs area, got a mixed drink, and showed another employee ou tickets to assist us finding our seats. She was also really kind, patient, and helpful. It seemed like everyone working at the venue was great. The bathrooms were clean and it was a good experience overall. The concert was AMAZING. I would return here if someone else I liked...