The 1901 Project Unveils First Look Inside Chicago’s New Iconic Music Hall

New renderings reveal an intimate, music-first venue designed from the ground up around sound, sightlines and the shared experience of live music
 
CHICAGO — The 1901 Project today unveiled the first look inside its new Music Hall, offering a glimpse inside the purpose-built live performance venue taking shape on the United Center campus and designed to create a new type of music experience in Chicago.

Set to open in 2028 as a centerpiece of the first phase of The 1901 Project, the Music Hall will accommodate 6,000 guests in a flexible, multi-level configuration. The venue is being built from the ground up specifically for live music – giving the opportunity to shape every element around the relationship between artist, audience and sound.

New exterior and interior renderings are available HERE.

The newly released renderings reveal an intimate performance room with three levels of viewing, sweeping sightlines, dramatic lighting and spaces designed to bring guests closer to the stage. Throughout the building, architecture, acoustics, hospitality and artist amenities work together around a singular idea: music should be felt throughout the entire venue, not only heard from the stage.

The concept reflects the Music Hall’s broader vision as a cultural cornerstone where music connects artists, audiences and the city. Its design is intentionally fluid, with spaces flowing into one another and the experience extending beyond the stage into the surrounding open space, restaurants and retail within The 1901 Project site. The venue’s design strategy describes the concept as “a movement in sound, space, and spirit.”

“My great-grandfather, Arthur, put Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald on a stage at the Chicago Stadium in 1959, just two blocks from United Center. Led Zeppelin played four nights on that same block in 1977. The musical history of this address is not incidental to what we’re building – it’s the reason we believe a room like this belongs here, and nowhere else,” said Danny Wirtz, Chairman and CEO of the Chicago Blackhawks and co-chair of the United Center Joint Venture. “We aren’t trying to build a smaller arena. We’re creating a venue around what makes live music powerful in the first place – the connection between an artist and their fans. Every decision, from the room itself to what happens backstage and outside its doors, is being made with that experience in mind.”
 
“The 1901 Project is about creating a place that is active well beyond an event or game night, and the Music Hall embodies that vision,” said Michael Reinsdorf, President and CEO of the Chicago Bulls and co-chair of the United Center Joint Venture. “Music has an extraordinary ability to bring people together. This venue gives us another way to connect the United Center campus with the West Side, with Chicago and with the millions of people from all parts of the world who come to Chicago to experience something together.”

Built For Music

Unlike many local Chicago venues adapted from existing buildings or designed to accommodate a wide range of uses, the Music Hall is being developed with live performance at the center of its design.

“For over 30 years our arena has been one of the best entertainment facilities in the world. We’ve learned what artists, production teams and fans need and expect from a great live experience,” said Terry Savarise, Executive Vice President and CEO, United Center. “The Music Hall gives us the opportunity to take everything we’ve learned and build an entertainment model from the ground up. We have designed a comprehensive experience from the artist’s arrival to the moment the lights go down, and from the moment a guest walks through the front door to the final song of the night.”


The venue bowl has been designed with support from major industry consultants including RIOS, Theater Projects and Kirkegaard. The state-of-the-art performance space will feature top tier acoustics, unobstructed sightlines, dynamic production capabilities and a scalable capacity for up to 6,000 guests. The flexibility of the venue will allow the room to retain an intimate character across different configurations. Spacious circulation areas and bars are intended to make movement through the venue easier while keeping guests connected to the performance.
That flexibility also creates a new element to the United Center’s event ecosystem: a room capable of welcoming emerging artists, established acts seeking a more intimate environment, special performances and artists whose trajectory may eventually lead to the United Center stage.

Programming is envisioned to span genres and generations, from rising artists to established performers, with the venue’s scale supporting traditional tour stops as well as one-off performances and multi-night residencies.
Helping shape that programming strategy is Matt Rucins, Director of Content and Programming, who joined the organization in January as the first dedicated hire for the Music Hall. A nearly 30-year veteran of Chicago’s live music industry, Rucins brings experience across some of the city’s most influential music rooms and promoters, including Schubas, Lincoln Hall, the Auditorium, React Presents and Live Nation. He is already working directly with artists, agents, managers and promoters to build relationships and inform the venue’s programming approach ahead of its 2028 opening.

“When you spend your career working with artists and their teams, you learn pretty quickly what makes a room work – and what gets in the way,” said Matt Rucins, Director of Content and Programming. “What’s exciting about the Music Hall is that we have the opportunity to think about those things before the doors ever open. We’re building a room that can serve artists at different points in their careers, give them reasons to come back to Chicago and, most importantly, create the kind of connection between artist and audience that makes a show memorable.”

An Artist Experience That Starts Before The Stage

That attention extends behind the curtain.

Easy load-ins, top-tier production capabilities and a dynamic artist compound are being designed around the rhythms of touring. Backstage spaces will offer artists a private environment infused with Chicago character, with the goal of making the hours surrounding a performance as considered as the time spent on stage.
The Music Hall will also sit steps from an on-site 180-key hotel, dining and retail – creating the infrastructure to support everything from a single tour date to longer stays and artist residencies. The venue’s programming strategy specifically envisions those amenities helping artists spend more time in Chicago and create deeper connections with audiences.

The Show Begins Before The Lights Go Down

The experience is similarly designed to extend beyond the venue bowl.

Inside, expansive bars, merchandise locations and premium hospitality spaces will complement the three-level performance room. Outside its doors, the venue will open directly into the larger 1901 Project campus, connecting guests with new open space, restaurants, retail, parking and hotel. The intention is to transform a night at the Music Hall from a single performance into an experience that begins before guests enter the building and continues after the encore.

That relationship between the building and its surroundings is fundamental to the venue’s identity. The Music Hall was conceived around the idea of being “in harmony” — connecting building and open space, neighborhood and city, and ultimately the music inside with the activity surrounding it.

Chicago’s Next Live Music Chapter

The Music Hall builds upon more than three decades of live events at the United Center.

When the United Center opened in 1994, it inherited the legacy of Chicago Stadium while establishing a new generation of iconic concerts and performances. In the decades since, the campus has added dedicated facilities supporting the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks. The Music Hall represents the next major expansion of the campus’ live event infrastructure. It also arrives as part of a much larger transformation.

The 1901 Project is a $7 billion investment that will transform more than 55 acres surrounding the United Center into a mixed-use neighborhood with new public spaces and parks, housing, retail, hospitality, offices and transportation improvements. The Music Hall is among the signature developments in Phase One currently under construction, with an anticipated opening in 2028.

For more on The 1901 Project, please visit The1901ProjectChicago.com.
MEDIA NOTE: For library of 1901 Project assets, please see HERE.

About The 1901 Project

The 1901 Project is a groundbreaking $7-billion neighborhood investment in Chicago, dedicated to transforming the area surrounding the United Center to foster sustainable growth. With a focus on enhancing infrastructure and creating economic opportunities, The 1901 Project represents a bold vision for the future of Chicago’s West Side. The project aims to build vibrant, inclusive neighborhoods that reflect the city’s rich cultural heritage and dynamic spirit. Through strategic investments and innovative solutions, The 1901 Project is committed to driving long-term prosperity and making Chicago a better place to live, work, and thrive.

About The United Center

The United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls (NBA) and Chicago Blackhawks (NHL), is a globally recognized and multi-use entertainment facility that has welcomed more than 70 million fans since opening in 1994. The United Center hosts more than 200 events each year, including the best sporting events, musical performers, family shows and special events in the industry. A commitment to creating iconic stories, providing superior service and creating economic opportunities makes the United Center one of the premier venues in the world. For more information, visit www.unitedcenter.com.

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