Why practice at the Berto Center?
by JockstrapNoah on Aug 21, 2008 10:50 AM CDT
17 comments
This is something that has confounded me for a long time about the Bulls. Why do they practice so far away from where they play? Its basically forcing the players to spend one hour in traffic everyday getting to the arena from the practice facility. I think the Bulls should practice in the city and here is why:
1) It takes at least an hour to get from Deerfield to the United Center during the day.
2) Do you really want your 6'11" multi-million dollar asset crammed into a car for up to two hours everyday?
3) I personally base nearly all my happiness on a short commute. Don't you want happy players?
4) It would allow players to get a sweet condo downtown like Mayor Daley and Oprah Winfrey. How can you play for the city when you don't live in the city?!
5) 20 somethings want to live where the action is, I know I do, except Kirk Hinrich who has a kid to raise. (Technically I'm 30, whatever)
6) Tim Grover just opened a professional basketball practice facility at 2641 West Harrison Street Chicago, IL. 60612 just 5 minutes from the united center. Practice there! And then bike to the UC!
7) The suburbs suck and they are bad for the environment.
8) Ben Gordon's contract negotiations are really held up on the clause where he's trying to make the team pay for his gas. Gas is expensive these days for tricked out SUV's!
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do they go to the Berto on game days?
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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Aug 21, 2008 11:06 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Here is my based on nothing assumption
The visitors get to use the arena to practice. If the home team wants to practice on game day they have to do it at the facility. Maybe not though. Maybe they take turns practicing at the arena. Still, if the practice facility was closer your options wouldn’t be limited by logistics.
by JockstrapNoah on Aug 21, 2008 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I always thought they limited practice on gamedays to shootarounds held at the arena
We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look.
Ronald Reagan
by snley on Aug 21, 2008 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
and you are correct
There are training facilities at the Berto Center which aren’t at the UC, and would be hard to put there without increasing the size of the place. The Berto center is big.
The Bucks and the Knicks don’t practice in their arenas. The Cavs did, but may not anymore. If I remember correctly, the Berto Center was the envy of a lot of teams for a long time, and many copied the idea.
by KT on Aug 21, 2008 12:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wasn't there a whole big deal last winter, when Ben Wallace was late a couple of games,
about how the team offers a paid hotel room downtown before home games, so the commute shouldn’t ever be an excuse? Because that would make it seem like they aren’t at the Berto on game days to me.
Man-slave, bring me my PB&J!
by wjb1492 on Aug 21, 2008 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes the players
are offered hotel rooms downtown on game days.
by sue369 on Aug 21, 2008 2:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sue would know
she always requests the one next to Kirk’s whenever she’s in town
We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look.
Ronald Reagan
by snley on Aug 21, 2008 3:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
did you call him an assmunch?
management sez: recommend fanposts/fanshots/comments! Click 'reply' when replying to a comment! Flag jerkfaces!
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Aug 21, 2008 6:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Idea...
They can have a team sleepover at the Berto Center! That way, less gas spent driving to and from practice consecutive days, and its team bonding time!
B.J. for three.... KABOOM!
by chibullsfan03 on Aug 21, 2008 11:31 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Practice? We talkin' about practice...?
Actually, I think the players are pretty happy living in posh estates in Northern Suburbs, complete with gated communities (Luol, Noc), sprawling estates (Ben Wallace) and really good school systems…I guess think the players think of practice as work, so by living near the Berto they have a short commute…the long commute is for games, which I think is a lot more fun than work for the players…and as previously stated, the players don’t practice on game days and the team provides them first class accommodations in the city itself.
by Dionysus2.0 on Aug 21, 2008 2:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Useless post
Every nba team practices away from their downtown, so this is not a bulls thing it is a league wide thing. Also where would you find room for a complex for them to practice, including offices, courts, training rooms, fitness rooms, and a weight room. Even if the bulls could have a place like this it would so expensive that it would jack ticket prices up alot
by ifarr on Aug 21, 2008 3:47 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
There's a new pro basketball facility.
On Harrison just west of Western, Attack Athletics, http://www.attackathletics.com/. Shaun Livingston is training there among others. That is what originally got me thinking about why they would practice at the Berto Center seeing as how it seems so far away. Especially compared with this brand new facility 5 minutes from the UC. Everybody has made good points though. The fact that they practice (shootaround) at the arena on gamedays and provide hotels for the players mitigates what seems like an awful commute.
by JockstrapNoah on Aug 21, 2008 3:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
that's pretty cool that it's built there
Go west (of Western), young man!
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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Aug 21, 2008 9:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
They could have built the Berto Center anywhere.
They built it where the players already were living. The players choose to live on the north side, and the primarily reason isn’t because the Berto Center is there. The Berto center saves long commutes every practice day and every summer day when the players are working out there. It’s an awful commute 45-50 times a year, and a great commute the other 150+ days. Which one of these is bigger than the other?
by Scotter on Aug 22, 2008 12:58 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah it seems most players live in the north suburbs.
I think one player in particular lived in deerfield at the time, MJ. Maybe that had something to do with building the berto center where they did. It made Chris Duhon’s commute to Rush Street harder though. Thats for sure.
by JockstrapNoah on Aug 22, 2008 9:18 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Im sure MJ
had some say in its location.
by chlutz508 on Aug 25, 2008 9:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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