Credit Union 1 Arena (previously known as UIC Pavilion) is a multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

located at 525 S. Racine Avenue on the Near West Side in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It opened in 1982.

Description and history

Credit Union 1 Arena is located on the campus of the

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

. Originally named the UIC Pavilion, it opened in 1982, and was renovated in 2001. The arena is rented for many functions and concerts. It is accessible from the CTA Blue Line Racine stop, located one block north of the Pavilion. It is also accessible from the #7 Harrison Bus and the #60 Blue Island/26th Bus. It also hosted UIC's

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team when they competed in the CCHA as well as the 1984, 1999, and 2000

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

men's basketball conference tournament. Credit Union 1 Arena is home to the UIC Flames

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team and the former home of the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. Th ...

WNBA team. It is the home of the

Windy City Rollers Windy City Rollers is a women's flat-track roller derby league located in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Juanna Rumbel (Elizabeth Gomez) and Sister Sledgehammer (Kelly Simmons) in 2004, Windy City is the first flat-track roller derby league establi ...

of the

Women's Flat Track Derby Association The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby. It sets the international standards for rankings, rules, and competition in the sport, and provides guidance and ...

. From 2004 to 2006 it also housed the Chicago Storm Major Indoor Soccer League team before they moved into the newly constructed Sears Centre. The UIC Pavilion was the home arena for

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

and

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was the site of three

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

events: Starrcade 87,

Chi-Town Rumble Chi-Town Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It took place on February 20, 1989, at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinoi ...

and Halloween Havoc 90. When used as a concert venue the arena seats up to 10,075 for end-stage shows, 7,924 for -house shows, and 5,878 for -house shows. The venue continues to be a regular host for major rock concerts, including notable sets from

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

. The arena is officially the home court of the Chicago Smash of

World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) was a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally took place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA would ...

; however, the Smash have never played there, as World TeamTennis played its entire 2020 season at

The Greenbrier The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States. Since 1778, visitors have traveled to this part of the state to "take the waters" of t ...

in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia and its entire 2021 season at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California, and the league has not held a season since then. In 2016, it was the home of the Chicago Eagles of Champions Indoor Football. However, the team went on hiatus for the 2017 season. In 2018, UIC signed a 15-year naming rights agreement with Credit Union 1, a

credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

based in Illinois, and renamed the venue from UIC Pavilion to Credit Union 1 Arena.

Notable events

1980s

*April 10, 1983:

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

performed the final show of his 1999 Tour at the arena. *November 18, 1983:

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

performed at the arena on their sold-out Born Again Tour, featuring

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is an English singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

on vocals. *June 8, 1984:

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

performed at the Pavilion on his first solo tour, supporting his 1984 release "About Face". *February 16–17, 1985:

performed at the arena on their sold-out Perfect Strangers tour. *May 18, 1985:

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

performed at the arena on her first tour, the

Virgin Tour The Virgin Tour was the debut concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The tour supported her first two studio albums, ''Madonna (album), Madonna'' (1983) and ''Like a Virgin (album), Like a Virgin'' (1984). It started on April 10, 1 ...

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

were the opening act. *March 4, 1987:

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

performed at the arena, with parts of the footage used in the " Wanted Dead or Alive" music video. *April 9–11, 1987:

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, and world music with psyc ...

performed at the arena. *November 26, 1987: Starrcade '87: Chi-Town Heat took place at the arena. *July 29, 1988:

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the mos ...

performed at the arena as part of Run's House Tour. Opening acts were

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

and

DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of the rapper and actor Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) and the turntablist Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). Active from 1986 to 1994 an ...

. *November 17, 1988:

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

performed at the arena as part of the

Damaged Justice Damaged Justice was the fourth concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It began on September 11, 1988, and ended on October 8, 1989. The name is believed to be inspired either by the cover of its fourth studio album '' ...And J ...

tour promoting their fourth album, ''...And Justice for All'' (1988). *December 13, 1988: The SuperClash III pay-per-view took place at the arena. *February 20, 1989: The

took place at the arena. *June 14, 1989:

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

and

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

performed at the arena as part of their Eazy Duz It Tour. Opening acts included

Kid 'n Play Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop duo from New York City who were most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is composed of Christopher Reid ("Kid") and Christopher Martin ("Play") working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eastmond. B ...

, J.J. Fad, Kwamé, and

Too Short Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by his stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper. A pioneer of West Coast hip-hop, Shaw was among the first acts to receive recognition in the genre during the late ...

. *October 28, 1989:

The Fire Meets the Fury Tour The Fire Meets the Fury Tour is a 1989 concert tour co-headlined by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Beck. Epic Records paired the two guitarists together for a 30-date concert tour starting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This tour was the third leg of th ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Beck took place at the arena.

1990s

*October 27, 1990: Halloween Havoc 90 took place at the arena. *November 4, 1990:

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit", and "Pumps and a Bump", flashy dance movements, e ...

performs as part of his Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em World Tour. *November 25, 1990:

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

and

Too $hort Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by his stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper. A pioneer of West Coast hip-hop, Shaw was among the first acts to receive recognition in the genre during the late ...

headlined a concert as part of their Straight from the Underground Tour. Opening acts included

Poor Righteous Teachers Poor Righteous Teachers was a hip hop group from Trenton, New Jersey, founded in 1989. Often referred to as PRT by its fans, Poor Righteous Teachers was known as a socially and politically conscious hip hop group, with musical content inspire ...

, D-Nice,

Yo-Yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in th ...

, and

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...

. *June 18 and November 25, 1994:

performed at the arena, with both concerts released in full on the band's 2012 box set '' Chicago '94''. *February 16, 1996: The World Air Games, a high jump competition, was held at the arena.

2000s

*October 31, 2001: Rock band

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell (musician), John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJ ...

held their annual Halloween show at the arena, delighting crowds with first time covers of Frank Zappa's "Joes Garage" and The Temptations' "Ball of Confusion". *October 12, 2003: Members of the US national men's and women's gymnastics teams participated at a show at the arena. *November 24, 2006: Comedy rock duo

Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles in 1994 by the actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Their music showcases Black's theatrical vocal delivery and Gass' acoustic guitar playing. Critics have described their fusion of ...

performed at the arena in their The Pick of Destiny Tour, with

Neil Hamburger Neil Hamburger is a standup comedy, standup comedian and singer character created and portrayed by American entertainer Gregg Turkington. Distinguished for his misanthropic jokes and anti-comedy style, Turkington has released a number of albums ...

opening. *October 3 – November 3, 2007: The arena hosted the 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championships, the largest championship in the organization's history. *April 25, 2009: The arena held WEC 40, televised as '' WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki'' (2009).

2010s

*November 5–7, 2010: The arena hosted the 2010

WFTDA Championships The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships ("WFTDA Championships" or "Champs" for short) are the leading competition for roller derby leagues. The Championships are organized by the Women's Flat Track Derby Associatio ...

, also called the " Uproar on the Lakeshore". *July 24, 2010: The arena hosted the CoverGirl Classic event for

USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. It sets the domestic rules and policies that govern the sport, promotes and develops gymnastics on the grassroots ...

. *July 23, 2011: The arena again hosted the CoverGirl Classic event for

, its second consecutive year as the venue. *May 23–24, 2012: The arena hosted the first two days of the

World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates The World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates was initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1990s, as a forum in which the Nobel Peace Laureates and the Peace Laureate Organizations could come together to address global issues with a view to encourage a ...

. The event was held simultaneous to the meeting of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

leaders in the

2012 Chicago summit The 2012 Chicago summit was the 24th summit of the heads of state and heads of government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), held in Chicago, Illinois, on 20 and 21 May 2012. This was the first time ever that a NATO summit was held ...

. *May 26, 2012: The arena hosted the Secret U.S. Classic event for

. *November 4, 2013:

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, formed in 2009 by rapper MacklemoreTrust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard (magazine), B ...

perform as part of The Heist World Tour,

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

, and

Big K.R.I.T. Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), known professionally as Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he began his musical career in 2005. He was sign ...

opened the show. *Sept 17, 2015: The

defeated the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was founded for ...

before a crowd of 4,098 people at the arena in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference Semifinal series for the 2015 WNBA Playoffs. *March 11, 2016: Unrest between protesters and supporters of Republican presidential candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

occurred after a political rally scheduled to occur at the arena was canceled. *Feb 16, 2018: The Glory 50: Chicago kickboxing event was held at the arena. *Feb 28, 2018: Rock band

A Day to Remember A Day to Remember is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Ocala, Florida, in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs. They are known for their amalgamation of metalcore and pop-punk. The band currently consists of voca ...

performed to a sold-out crowd on their 15 Years in the Making tour, the largest crowd the band had played for to date. *April 20–22, 2018: The arena hosted the 2018

NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships The NCAA men's gymnastics championships are contested at an annual competition sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team and individual national champions of men's collegiate gymnastics among its member prog ...

. *November 15, 2018: The UIC Pavilion is renamed the Credit Union 1 Arena.

2020s

*November 24, 2021: Rapper

Playboi Carti Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1995, or 1996), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern Hip hop music, hip hop a ...

performed at Credit Union 1 Arena as part of his highly anticipated King Vamp Tour with his members of his record label,

Opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

. The tour, promoting his critically acclaimed album

Whole Lotta Red ''Whole Lotta Red'' is the second studio album by the American rapper Playboi Carti. It was released on December 25, 2020, by AWGE and Interscope Records. Recording began in late 2018, following the release of its predecessor '' Die Lit'' (2018 ...

, drew a large and enthusiastic crowd. *February 5, 2022: The inaugural game of the Donda Doves, the basketball team of Kanye West's

Donda Academy Donda Academy was an unaccredited Christian private school for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in Simi Valley, California, United States. It was founded in 2022 by American rapper Kanye West. During the admissions and hiring ...

, took place at the arena. *March 30, 2023: U.S. Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

spoke at the arena ahead of the runoff for the 2023 Chicago mayoral election. *May 15, 2023: The arena served as the venue for the inauguration of

Brandon Johnson Brandon Johnson (born March 27, 1976) is an American politician and educator who is currently serving as the 57th mayor of Chicago since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Johnson previously served on the C ...

, the 57th and current mayor of Chicago. *March 8, 2024: The arena served as the venue for a concert by the American rock band

The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

to benefit Illinois 7th congressional candidate Kina Collins during her 2024 campaign. Others who performed that concert were American rock band Beach Bunny, who served as The Strokes opener.

References

External links

Credit Union 1 Arena
{{DEFAULTSORT:Credit Union 1 Arena Buildings and structures in Chicago Indoor arenas in Chicago College basketball venues in the United States Ice hockey venues in Chicago Indoor soccer venues in Illinois Chicago Sky UIC Flames basketball UIC Flames men's ice hockey Basketball venues in Chicago Boxing venues in Chicago Gymnastics venues in Chicago Mixed martial arts venues in Illinois Soccer venues in Chicago Wrestling venues in Chicago Music venues in Chicago University of Illinois Chicago Chicago Cheetahs Women's National Basketball Association venues