Later this week, derby fan both fresh and battered will be heading to the UIC Pavilion to watch the 2010 WFTDA Championship games.  This will be my first derby National Championship, but not my first derby experience in UIC Pavilion.  My team the Cincinnati Violent Lambs played the Windy City Second Wind there earlier this year.  In case you were wondering the

Me, Nik Jagger, working to head off Ruth Enasia 7/31/10 Photo by Gil Leora

outcome, Cincinnati Violent Lambs – 96 Chicago Second Wind 184, but I am not here to give you a recap of the game.  I am here to give you the insider’s view of the UIC Pavilion.

Quick history lesson: Windy City has not always had this luxurious venue.  Their inaugural season 2005, was played on a shortened track at the legendary Congress Theatre (ironically, while I was in Chicago to play Windy City I also attended a concert at The Congress Theatre).  In 2006 they moved to the Cicero Stadium to play on a regulation track and moved to the UIC Pavilion in 2008.

The UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago) Pavilion is a 6,958-seat arena located on the West Side in Chicago.  In addition to the U of I’s sporting events and concerts, the UIC Pavilion has hosted boxing championships and more interestingly, professional wresting events like the WCW Halloween Havoc of 1990.  It is a baby compared to a lot of derby arenas at just 28 years old.  By comparison, Minnesota’s Roy Wilkin’s Auditorium was built in 1932 and the Cincinnati Gardens just celebrated it’s 60 year anniversary.  With that youth, comes technology and fewer unidentifiable smells that tend to saturate older venues.  Like Windy City, UIC Pavilion is clean and classy.

What the Skaters want to Know

The floor is your typical skate court.  I wore the purple Atom Omegas and didn’t have any trouble with grip and didn’t hear many complaints from my teammates either.  If anything I felt the floor was a little slow, but compared to the polished concrete I normally skate on, most skate court floors are slow.  I did find that may legs got tired a little faster on the Windy City floor, compared to most other skate court floors.  It’s comparable to Atlanta, but not as slick and it is a helluva lot better than Grand Rapids–that floor straight out sucks!!!  (But they have some of the best after parties, so it’s cool!)

Windy City runs a tight ship!  Practice track time was monitored very closely, almost militant.  I would expect the same for the Championships, since 12 teams need to share 1 floor.  Everything started precisely on time, and someone was there with a clock and a whistle to blow when your time was up.  This is not the place to be late to practice, because that is all you get.  Not a minute more, not a minute less!

The UIC Pavilion has the fanciest locker rooms this side of the mighty Mississippi.  Each skater can have her own locker cubby with a seat.  The seat doubles as a chest to hold your gear.  Since the locker rooms are fairly small, the gear chest helps keep the locker room tidy, well as tidy as roller girls can be.  The bathroom stall doors lock and the showers are clean.  Feel free to bring your shower caddy, there is no need to fear the funk in these showers.  There is also a hand dryer at eye level, so you can even blow dry your hair.  I looked the best I have ever looked after a game at the UIC Pavilion, thanks to the hand/hair dryer.

What the Fans want to Know

There isn’t a bad seat in the house!  You will not be able to sit on the floor, at least not your behind.  All fans with VIP seats, will have floor access and a metal chair near the track.  Personally, I prefer the stands to the track-side chairs.  You’re closer to the beer, bathrooms and like I said…there is not a bad seat in the house.  Bring your wallets, beers are $9, but there was a decent selection of quality beers.

In my opinion, the most impressive feature is the wrap around color scoreboard loaded with a host of colorful derby terminology and logos.  Just wait until you experience “LEAD JAMMER” running in lights around the arena as your favorite team clenches strategic control of the jam.

The After Party

Windy city normally holds their after party at the Bottom Lounge, but will be branching out to go give us a tour of the city for the Championship.  It’s like Windy’s personal tour of the town, how exciting!

**Friday Night – Logan Square neighborhood
**

  • Boiler Room – 2210 N. California – Food and drink specials
  • Logan Bar & Grill, 2230 N. California Ave – Food and drink specials
  • Revolution Brewery, 2323 N. California Ave – Get member privileges – a 20 oz. brew for a 16 oz. price
  • Cole’s, 2338 N. Milwaukee Ave – $1 off all drafts

Saturday night – The legendary South Side of Chicago

  • Reggie’s Rock Club, 2109 s. State – no cover, drink specials, live music, karaoke, also open bar option for $25 from 11 pm-2 am

Remember it’s daylight savings night, so you get an extra hour of sleep!

**Sunday night – Wrigleyville
**

  • Brew & View at the Vic – 3145 N Sheffield Ave.  – Derby brew and view earlier for a nominal entry fee, but no cover after 8pm.

Getting Around in Chicago

If you’re planning on driving around the city streets of Chicago, you might want to investigate parking.  Parking at UIC Pavilion is $13.  Making it $39 over the 3 day event, and that does not include in and out privileges.  If you decide to drive to get lunch or do a little shopping, then come back, that will be another $13 plus what you probably had to pay while shopping.  I venture to bet that a majority of us will be consuming alcohol while attending the Championships, so may I recommend a CTA pass.  You can pick up a 3 day CTA pass for $13 or pay $2 a ride.  I recommend the pass.  If are from a city that does not have a high functioning public transit system, figuring it out can be a daunting task.  Let me help you!

First you will need to pick up a pass.  The are sold at any Currency Exchange, many CVS, Walgreen’s and Jewel stores, as well as the CTA store.  They are NOT sold in the stations.   The closest place to the host hotel, The Palmer House Hilton, to get a CTA card is the CVS at 137 S. State Street.  Go here for a list of locations.

They are sold in 1, 3, 7 or even 30 days increments.  A 1 day pass is $5.75, 3 days – $13, and 7 days – $23.  They are activated on your first use, so you can pick the up any time, but they wont be activated until you actually ride the “L.”  A 3 day pass should work for most people.  If you pick up a 3 day pass and take your first ride at noon on Friday, it will be good until noon on Monday.

CTA Map of Chicago

Now your probably thinking, great got a pass, now how do I get around or know where to go?  I have outlined routes between the host hotel, The Palmer House Hilton, UIC Pavilion and the Bottom Lounge.  Most routes are very simple, with the exception of UIC Pavilion directly to the Bottom Lounge…but you could simplify the trip by swinging by the hotel to drop off your gear before heading the the after party.

A few things to note before we get to the routes.

  • *The Blue, Green and Pink lines are the routes that are used to get between the three key locations.  All 3 of these lines run a train every 12 minutes.  The Blue lines runs 24 hours a day, while the last train for the Pink and Green lines is 1:30.  I wouldn’t recommend waiting until the last train before deciding to leave, the train can and will most likely be crowded late at night.

From the Palmer House to UIC pavilion

  • Walk a 1/2 block to the Monroe Blue station on the corner of Monroe and Dearborne.  The hotel is on Monroe street, so just walk a 1/2 block the opposite direction of the lake.  Be sure to take Monroe Blue, not Red, you will see the red station on your way to the blue.
  • Take the Blue Line toward Forest Park and get off at Racine, it will be the 5th stop.
  • When you get off the train, go to your left onto the platform and then take a right off platform and UIC Pavilion will be pretty much right in front of you, a block away on the right.

**From the UIC Pavilion to the Palmer House
**

  • Get on the Blue Line at Racine
  • Take the Blue Line toward O’Hara and get off at Monroe Blue station.
  • You will be on the corner of Monroe and Dearborne, head toward the lake on Monroe and you will find the hotel.

From the UIC Pavilion to the Friday night after party

  • Get on the Blue Line at Racine
  • Take the Blue Line toward O’Hara and get off at the California station – 13 stops
  • All the bars are within walking distance of one another, allowing for a great pub crawl experience.

Boiler Room is the closest to the train stop, it appears to be pretty much directly off the train stop

Logan’s Bar and Grill is next, on the same side of the street as the Boiler room.  Just head toward the “L” tracks.  After you pass under the tracks, Logan’s will be a few doors down the street.

Revolution Brewery comes next on the crawl and is positioned at the corner of California and Milwaukee Ave.  When you come out of Logan’s keep walking North, away from the Boiler Room, until you come to the intersection of Milwaukee and California.  Revolution Brewery will be on the right.  The opposite side of the street from Logan’s and Boiler Room.

Cole’s – Last but not least- is on Milwaukee Avenue, which crosses California at the Revolution Brewery.  You will head North on Milwaukee, tip you have been heading North on California, for a bit and Cole’s will be on your left.

Now remember, to get back to the train station you will want to get back on California and crawl south.  Good luck with that after you have had a few brews!

From the Friday night after party to the Palmer House

  • Get on the Blue Line at California
  • Take the Blue Line toward Forest Park to the Monroe Blue station (8 stops)
  • You will be on the corner of Monroe and Dearborne, head toward the lake on Monroe and you will find the hotel.

From UIC Pavilion & Palmer House to the  Saturday night after party

*There is a free shuttle from the hotel to the after party, so catch the “L” to the hotel then hitch a ride on the shuttle. *

  • Get on the Blue Line at the Racine station
  • Take the Blue Line toward O’Hara and get off at Monroe Blue station.
  • You will be on the corner of Monroe and Dearborne, head toward the lake on Monroe to the hotel
  • Catch the bus to Reggie’s Rock Club

From Saturday night’s after party to the Palmer House

  • Get on the free shuttle!

From UIC pavilion to Sunday night’s after party

  • Get on the Blue Line at the Racine station
  • Take the Blue Line toward O’Hara and get off at Jackson station (4 stops and transfer to the Red Line)
  • Take the Red line toward Howard and get off at the Belmont station (8 stops)

From the Palmer House to Sunday night’s after party

  • Get on the Red Line at the Monroe Red Line station
  • Take the Red Line toward Howard and get off at the Belmont station (7 stops)

From Sunday night’s after party to the Palmer House

  • Get on the Red at Belmont
  • Take the Red line toward 95th and get off at the Monroe Red Line station (7 stops)
  • The hotel will be on Monroe toward the lake, less than 1/2 a block.

I created a google map of all the locations mentioned above.  Feel free to use it and abuse it.   Windy City also created a helpful user guide.

See you soon in Chi-town, and if you have any tips or tricks of your own, please share!

Images courtesy of Gil L and