Bulls, Blackhawks promise to cover lost wages
The Bulls and Blackhawks announced a plan Saturday to pay United Center employees during the downtime that arrived with suspension of the NBA and NHL seasons. Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker has asked teams to refrain from playing home games until at least May 1.
The teams released a statement that read: "The United Center ownership and the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks, on behalf of our front offices and players, will pay day-of-game employees through the remainder of the originally scheduled season. Our employees, whether they be front office staff, or our approximately 1,200 day-of-game staff, are family, and we will navigate this unprecedented situation together."
The welfare of game-night employees was first raised by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on the night the NBA suspended their season due to concerns about spread of the coronavirus.
After that, NBA stars like Cleveland's Kevin Love, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Detroit's Blake Griffin pledged $100,000 to help compensate arena employees. New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson vowed to cover all payments for game-night employees. The majority of NBA owners have promised to cover lost wages as well.