I extended my trip one day in order to attend the Chicago Bulls pre-season game versus the Utah Jazz at the O2 Arena on Tuesday night. In all practicality I probably should have flown back to Chicago instead, since I did attend the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics pre-season game two years ago at the O2 Arena.

The O2 Arena is located in zone 2 for underground purposes but is at the end of the zone. The station to get off at is North Greenwich.

Obtaining Tickets
I had looked up on ticketmaster.co.uk before the game and saw that the cheapest seats (£35) were sold out. Thus, I was hoping to find a ticket for that amount or less. When I approached the box office there was a man who had a £35 pound seat. This was promising since I would have to pay more if I bought a ticket from the box office. He offered the ticket for £35 at first but then dropped his price to £30 immediately after I hesitated. I probably could have bought the ticket for cheaper but decided not to negotiate. The guy ended up buying me a beer in the arena after I told him my ticket buying strategy. He was thankful I did not cut his price any lower.

Pre Game Dining
There are at least 20 restaurants within the O2 Arena, but are technically outside of the arena. I definitely recommend eating there if you are heading to the arena as most of the restaurants are crowded and have a good atmosphere. I chose to eat at S&M (stands for Sausage and Mash) Great British Pub – I figured my last meal in England should be English. After eating dinner, I went over to the pub that was the most crowded – the Slug and Lettuce.

The Game
Luol Deng was playing in front of a home crowd. However, it was James Johnson who sent the crowd home in a frenzy after he made the game winning shot at the buzzer to give the Bulls the 102-101 victory.

This was the second time I saw the Bulls and Jazz play a neutral site pre-season game. Last year I saw both teams play at Assembly Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL.

Post Game Dining
After the game I was hungry so decided to grab an appetizer at one of the many restaurants at the O2 Arena. I walked into Thai Silk since they had a £2 glass of wine or pint of beer special. I did not notice many other specials from the other restaurants post game.

I made sure I left the O2 Arena soon enough so I would not miss the tube going back to Lambeth North. I did not want to repeat my mistake of staying out too late and the only option being taking an expensive cab or the bus a long distance.