[ardecila]

^ Also Arie Crown Theater, United Center, Allstate Arena, Rosemont Theater, CharterOne during summers, Sears Centre, The Odeum, etc. Plenty of venues, especially when you consider Chicagoland as a metro and not just the city itself.

I still think Wintrust is a shaky proposition, but it doesn't matter because it's run by a government agency and because it's part of a larger McCormick Place ensemble. It'll get used, especially for large speaker events or entertainment as part of a convention.

A stadium at Lincoln Yards, I think, will have a more difficult time. There's certainly a need for an outdoor sporting venue that can host high school/amateur events and tournaments, etc. I just don't know if the "retractable roof" (whatever that means) is going to pay off. The whole thing seems poorly thought-out and more like a ploy to lure Amazon. Remember, Wintrust only works because McCormick already has massive parking capacity, easy access from all expressways, streets that are rarely congested, and a brand-new Green Line stop. Lincoln Yards has no infrastructure like that, and no concrete plan in place to build it.