Bad for whom? Most times I’ve gone to the UC it’s been after work from River West or the Loop. Get drinks or dinner in the West Loop before, walk over if it’s nice, Uber if it’s <30 degrees or rainy or I’m feeling lazy.
Not wrong about the city not knowing it’s happening. Everybody’s saving their time off for the tourney the following week. But still tons of bars w great vibes around the city that will only play hoops from last week of Feb onward. If you leave Chicago without having found 1 bar you want to move into then something went awry.
I think what you should be judging the experience on is someone who is coming to the city from out of town and wants to spend a couple of days going to games and enjoying the city. So having the experience be fully walkable from your hotel to the arena while also experiencing the best of the city is kind of important.
Pittsburgh! Des Moines or Iowa City. the 'Nati. Houghton! (OK, maybe not .) There are tons of great cities in Big footprint. The fascination w/ Indy is bizarre. Not a knock on Indy, just don’t see why there isn’t more of a rotation.
Just don’t drive a Hyundai or Kia if you come to Milwaukee. Milwaukee led the nation in car thefts despite just being the 31st most populous city. Not good.
TIL there are are a lot more words the bot is upset by. Anyhow,
Walkable means different things to different people. Unfortunately there are a huge amount of people for whom it means 5 minutes or less, and they have to be catered to.
I’d love to have it in more places though. Toronto is a brave idea and as a former Torontonian I love it but the arena’s not really walkable from retail. Cincinatti would probably upset AN Ohio state university we’re all familiar with, so I support it. I don’t know where the Pens play but I absolutely love Pittsburgh and would move there. Philly’s financial-services-provider-du-jour arena isn’t walkable, but if the conference were to grow a pair and manage the impossible by having it at the Palestra that would be just the coolest thing ever.
