Powers & Sons Construction helped transform the nation’s largest NBA arena into a high-tech, high-impact venue for the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC).
What did organizers need to make Chicago’s United Center a dynamic multimedia space for 50,000 convention-goers, elected officials, VIP guests, DNC staff, and journalists from around the world?
Reliable power sources, fast networks, and secure data connections were a key focus, along with building and decommissioning temporary, custom-built offices, meeting spaces, media suites, and news studios.
How did we do it?
In partnership with McHugh Construction, Powers & Sons Construction got to work in January. Collectively, we dove into collaboration and preconstruction planning with DNC stakeholders to prepare for the August 19-22 event.
The preconstruction phase included finalizing the drawings and designs for all built spaces, developing well-defined scopes of work for subcontractors, estimating all costs, and developing a detailed schedule for mobilization and execution.
- With tight security and an eight-week construction deadline, leveraging the technical knowledge and expertise of key suppliers and subcontractors was essential.
- Temporary generators, power banks, transformers, and distributors were staged in exterior utility trailers outside of the venue.
- Components including lighting, sound systems, digital display boards, and temporary stand-up stations for journalists were installed throughout the arena and in several nearby buildings.
- Temporary media suites and news studios were built in order to keep miles of electrical wiring tucked away from view, as well as protect the FFE in the facility’s permanent suites. A temporary structure on the arena floor also housed technical components and included an upper-deck media platform to facilitate live broadcasting.
- After the convention, the team decommissioned all temporary event staging, spaces, and suites in three weeks.
Powers & Sons is proud to have helped prepare the United Center for hosting this historic event. It was an honor to facilitate an important part of the nation’s democratic process and help the City of Chicago prepare for one of the most high-profile events of the year.
