For the first time this season, the Chicago Sky is playing home games at Allstate Arena – a drastic change in venue from the UIC Pavilion where they have played the past four seasons. In my opinion, the UIC Pavilion is a much better venue given its location near Little Italy neighborhood – a good excuse to combine a game with dinner for the Ultimate Sports Wife. Because of their move, I figured I would not attend any Sky games this season. But, that all changed when I started working in Northbrook, IL this past week. I pass the Allstate Arena on my commute home and with Chicago traffic at a standstill in the early evening I will probably find myself exiting the highway to wait out traffic at Allstate Arena periodically.

Case in point was last night – a Friday night. Traffic was terrible. Thus, I was a prisoner in my northwest suburban office. But, instead of sitting in the office all night, I drove down I-294 to attend the Chicago Sky game before continuing on my way home. This game would not have been an option for me had the Sky not moved to Allstate Arena.

Parking at Allstate Arena
In 2008 when I attended several events at Allstate Arena, I discovered I could park for free in the shopping center parking lot directly adjacent to Allstate Arena. But, I had not been to the Allstate Arena for almost 18 months so I was unsure if the rules were the same. So in order to “act” like I was shopping, I walked into the Target for a few minutes before continuing onto the arena.

Beg, Borrow and Deal
At these lower level events, scalpers do not exist. In order to receive cheap or free tickets you will need to do the work yourself as was the case for the last two Sky games I attended. However, I did not feel like walking around the arena in the heat so I bought the cheapest ticket they had available at the box office – $15.

Washington Mystics at Chicago Sky
The crowd was pretty sparse and Allstate Arena is fairly big so the atmosphere at a Sky game is not the best. I felt like the crowd was a lot worse than my past Sky games, but then I remember the last two Sky games I attended was Opening night in 2008 and day camp day last summer.

The Mystics took a 13-point lead with 2:35 remaining in the 2nd quarter but the Sky came back quickly and was only behind by three points at halftime. Chicago took their only double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and held on for the 79-72 victory which snapped Washington’s winning streak at four games.