World City Guide

Sport

Chicago has professional teams in all the major American sports. There are two baseball teams – the Chicago Cubs (website: www.cubs.mlb.com), who play at the Wrigley Field (tel: (800) THE CUBS/843 2827), and the Chicago White Sox (tel: (312) 831 1SOX/1769); website: www.whitesox.mlb.com), who play at US Cellular Field (formerly Comisky Park). A unique Chicago baseball season (April-September) experience is a Cub game at the ivy-clad Wrigley Field, with the traditional singing of Take me out to the Ball Game during the seventh inning.

The NFL Chicago Bears (tel: (773) 976 9600; website: www.chicagobears.com), whose season runs from early September to the end of December, play at Soldier Field. The newly remodelled stadium looks quite strange from the outside, but state-of-the-art improvements have made the inside quite the place. The Chicago Fire (tel: (888) 657 3473; website: www.Chicago-fire.com) soccer team is also based there.

Basketball, with the Chicago Bulls (website: www.nba.com/bulls) playing at the United Center (1901 W Madison; tel: (312) 455 4000), is perhaps the most internationally known of the Chicago teams because of former player, Michael Jordan. The neighbourhood is not all that safe so be careful in and around the centre.

The United Center is also home to the NHL ice hockey team, the Chicago Blackhawks (tel: (312) 943 7000; website: www.chicagoblackhawks.com), while the Chicago Wolves (tel: (847) 390 0404; website: www.chicagowolves.com) the IHL ice hockey team, play at Allstate Arena, located in Rosemont near O’Hare Airport at 10550 Lunt Avenue.

The best place for purchasing tickets to sporting events, other than the venue itself, is Ticketmaster (tel: (312) 559 1212; website: www.ticketmaster.com).

Biking: The Lakefront Trail has 29km (18 miles) of cycling paths, the area between Monroe Street and Wacker Drive being the most scenic. Keep in mind that walkers, joggers and in-line skaters also use these paths, so they often get very crowded during rush hours and weekends. Many of the city streets have bike lanes, but visitors should take extreme caution should they decide to use them. For biking information, contact The Chicago Park District (tel: (312) 747 2200), or the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (tel: (312) 427 3325; website: www.chibikefed.org). To obtain a Chicago Bike Map, telephone (312) 742 2453 or email: cdotbikemaps@cityofchicago.org.

From Apr 30 to Oct 31, contact Bike Chicago at Navy Pier (tel: (800) 915 BIKE (2453) or (312) 595 9600; website: www.bikerental.com) to rent bikes or blades. Bike Chicago at Navy Pier will guide you through Lincoln Park, Grant Park and Chinatown. From mid-June through mid-Sept they offer free tours of the lakefront and the Japanese Garden (tel: 800 915 BIKE (2453) or 312 595 9600; website: www.bikechicago.com). For bike rentals at North Avenue Beach from Apr 30 to Oct 31, contact (773) 327 2706, or website: www.bikerental.com.

Fitness Centres: Though most fitness clubs are for members only (although guests are welcome when accompanied by a member), many hotels have their own facilities or associate membership arrangements with nearby gyms.

Golf: There are several nine-hole and 18-hole public golf courses scattered around the metro area. Most are operated by either the Chicago Park District (tel: (312) 245 0909; website: www.chicagoparkdistrict.com) such as Jackson Park, 63rd Street and Lakeshore Drive (tel: (312) 245 0909 or 747 2763) or The Forest Preserve District of Cook County (tel: (800) 460 0010; website: www.fpdcc.com) like Edgebrook, 5900 North Central Chicago (tel: (773) 763 8320) and Indian Boundary, 8600 Forest Preserve Drive (tel: (773) 625 9630 or (708) 366 9466). Harborside International Port & Starboard Courses, 11001 South Doty Avenue (tel: (312) 782 7837; website: www.harborsidegolf.com), has two courses. Prices vary from about US$20-76 depending on the course, the day of the week and the season.

Ice Skating: There is winter ice skating with a view at Daley Bicentennial Plaza starting (337 East Randolph St; tel: (312) 742 7648; website: www.chicagoparkdistrict.com) in Nov, depending on the weather, for US$2 and at Millennium Park, 55 North Michigan Avenue, it is free. Available skate rentals are US$2-3.

Swimming: Lake Michigan’s 31 beaches are maintained by the Chicago Park District (tel: (312) 742 2200; website: www.chicagoparkdistrict.com). The beaches are opened from Memorial Day (the last weekend in May) to Labor Day (the first weekend in September). Lifeguards are on duty 0900-2100. Many hotels have indoor pools as well as health clubs.

Tennis: The Chicago Park District (see above) also maintains outdoor tennis courts throughout the city. Most are free. Public school outdoor courts are also available after school hours. There are 12-lighted courts at the Daley Bicentennial Plaza, 337 East Randolph Street (tel: (312) 742 7648), but they must reserved at least 24 hours in advance. US$7 per hour per person. Most indoor clubs are private.