Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday she expects Bulls and Blackhawks fans will be allowed to watch home games at the United Center this season, barring a turn for the worse in COVID-19 cases.
“We feel like we might be plateauing and even, dare to dream, going down,” Lightfoot said of COVID-19 cases during an unrelated news conference. “Going down is the right time to have that conversation. So we’ll continue with that, and I expect before seasons end there will be fans in the United Center.”
The Bulls and Blackhawks each have seven regular season home games on their schedules.
A limited number of fans have been able to attend home games for the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, but those fans are at a decreased risk of COVID-19 transmission because seats are in an open-air setting. Fans were allowed into Soldier Field to watch the Chicago Fire home opener on Saturday, too.