Now Arena marking 20th year in Hoffman Estates after overcoming early challenges
After two design concepts, two owners and even two names, Hoffman Estates’ Now Arena will mark two decades of operation this month.
Launched under largely private ownership as the Sears Centre Arena, the 11,800-seat venue saw concerts featuring Duran Duran, Bob Dylan, Lionel Richie and Chaka Khan in its first week.
During its first year, it witnessed an up-and-coming Taylor Swift opening for George Strait and Ronnie Milsap.
Within three years, however, the village of Hoffman Estates had taken ownership under a prearranged plan for what was considered an unlikely worst-case scenario.
Construction firm and majority owner Ryan Companies had backed out of the public-private partnership citing financial difficulties.
Since then, the arena has established a stronger and profitable identity as the home of the NBA G League’s Windy City Bulls for the past decade. Bloomingdale-based Now Health Group has held the naming rights since 2020.
But it all began as a Plan B inspired by the memory of the outdoor Poplar Creek Music Theater after the Chicago Fire soccer team chose Bridgeview over Hoffman Estates for its own stadium.
“The whole Chicago Fire part has been lost in the fog of history,” Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said.
The possibility of hosting the team was what got retail giant Sears interested in making land available on the outskirts of its sprawling corporate headquarters in the village. But when it became clear Bridgeview had made the stronger pitch, the idea of making the site a public performance spot remained.
“Poplar Creek had been very popular, and there seemed to be a desire for an entertainment venue,” McLeod said.
Ryan Companies had harbored the idea of building arenas for itself around the country, he added.
But the fatal downfall of the initial approach at the Sears Centre seemed to be the desire to book a big name for shows that were too few and far between, McLeod said.
“It became pretty apparent early on,” he said of the arena’s downturn. “Buying acts is very expensive.”
In contrast, the arena recently enjoyed what longtime General Manager Ben Gibbs described as a typical week of its public ownership era, consisting of Christian and South Asian music concerts and a professional wrestling tournament that all sold out.
“That’s what our business has been, a little bit of everything,” Gibbs said. “We’ve found our niche over the years. I think for us it was just focusing on events that made money. We were very dead set on events that were profitable.”
But the biggest difference in the second half of the arena’s history has certainly been the presence of the Windy City Bulls ― the Chicago Bulls’ minor-league affiliate ― as a tenant, he said.
“Any successful arena has to have an anchor tenant,” Gibbs explained. “It’s very hard to envision this building being as successful without them. Their fans turn into our fans. Conversely, our events draw attention to them. At year 10, they’re a fabric of the sports community, and we never had that before.”
McLeod agreed that the size and success of the organization differentiates it from earlier attempts to find a tenant with minor-league soccer and hockey teams.
“Getting the Bulls was huge,” he said. “The quality of play in the G League is unbelievable.”
Windy City Bulls President Brad Seymour explained the appeal from the team’s perspective.
“This was the kind of building we were looking for,” he said. “Being the only tenant in the building makes a big difference. It’s been perfect. We knew this was a strong market. I can’t emphasize enough how good a relationship we have.”
To celebrate both the team’s and the arena’s anniversaries this fall, the Windy City Bulls will be giving away small replicas of their home court at the Nov. 14 game.
Another strong relationship that defines the arena of today is with naming-rights holder Now Health Group. The family-owned company, started in 1968, was looking for broader name recognition for its more than 1,500 health and natural-based products that include supplements, sports nutrition, foods, beauty products and essential oils.
Vice President of Sales & Marketing Dan Richard, the son of the company’s founder, had driven past the arena on the day in 2018 that Sears’ declaration of bankruptcy was announced.
“A light bulb went up that that name isn’t going to be up there much longer,” he said.
Richard immediately called the village but received an initially cold reception.
McLeod conceded that the deal in place meant only Sears could decide if it was leaving. Until then, there was nothing to talk about.
But Now Health Group’s interest was well known by the time that day came.
Since the deal was struck, the company’s employees have been consistent attendees of events there like the Windy City Bulls games as well as corporate meetings of their own.
“We think it’s great,” Richard said of the arena. “We still try to have more events there. It’s a feel-good thing for the area, something the area should be proud of.”
McLeod said all the success within the building don’t even capture Gibbs’ genius at developing the Hideaway Brew Garden outside for profitable summertime gatherings, as well as the many ways the parking lot was used as a venue during the pandemic.
“We probably did more concerts and events in our parking lot than anyone else,” Gibbs said of that largely dark time for the entertainment industry.
He still laughs at the memory of comedian Nate Bargatze doing a stand-up show in the style of a drive-in movie where attendees honked their car horns in place of the verbal reactions the performer couldn’t hear.
“He said, ‘This is the weirdest show I’ve ever done,’” Gibbs said of Bargatze.
Though not the history that was foreseen in the planning stages, the Now Arena is probably realizing its potential in the 2020s, McLeod said.
“It’s turned out very well, in my view,” he added. “It’s a great amenity for the village.”
“We just have to make sure we’re consistently delivering a superior product,” Gibbs added.
epeterson@dailyherald.com