Madhouse Team Store

Product Description

The design and concept for the Madhouse Team Store, retail hub for the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks the United Center, was born out of nearly a century-long history of sports and entertainment on the West Side of Chicago. To honor the legacy of the original Chicago Stadium, design team at 555 proposed the name “Madhouse Team Store” as a way to honor the past, while bringing the Bulls and Blackhawks into present day and beyond.

Inside, the store features a range of guest experiences that are designed to attract and engage while keeping in mind shopper flow during high-traffic times. Atrium guests are lured in by a real-life modified and repurposed CTA train car. Here, fans can take a green screen photo court side or inside the locker room, or call a play through video touch-screens. Wrapping the central core of the space is a massive corrugated steel ribbon, designed as a projection-mapped surface to highlight ever-changing content depending on the stores needs that day. Above the main checkout line hangs two custom sculptural art installations of both team’s logos. Other features include 8 foot tall replicas of the Stanley Cup and Larry O’Brien trophies, a 20ft tall hat wall with over 4,000 hats, and a real-life section of the Championship court that Bulls legends like Jordan and Pippen played on in the 90’s. The space utilizes a combination of low and high-tech features, designed to engage fans at many levels, providing opportunities to shop while sharing their experience with friends on social media.

Operationally, 555 designed a customized perimeter merchandising system that maximizes visibility thru the store’s floor to ceiling glass windows. Sliding perforated panels visible from both sides, making transitioning between teams practically effortless, saving hours in restocking time. Similarly, 555 designed and engineered a custom rotating jersey wall feature, that pivots with the touch of a finger, allowing staff to smartly hide and feature pre-merchandised jerseys on game days.