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Sports

Blackhawks player Seth Jones buys River North condo for $3.2M

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones in late March paid $3.21 million for a four-bedroom, 4,129-square-foot condominium on the 12th floor of a recently built tower in River North.Jones, 27, was traded by the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Blackhawks in July 2021. He is in the midst of an eight-year, $76 million contract extension that he signed after the trade.AdvertisementIn River North, the condo that Jones bought is one of only two units on its floor, and it’s in a building that was constructed in 2015. It has 3-1/2 bathrooms, 10-foot ceilings, stone flooring in all the common areas, Lutron lighting, powered recessed blinds, a family room with a gas ventless fireplace, and views to the north, south and east. Other features include an office with floor-to-ceiling wood bookshelves, a 46-foot-wide deck spanning the east end of the unit, a separate private patio off the primary bedroom, and a kitchen with two twin islands, wall cabinets by DeMode and top-of-the-line appliances from Miele, including a built-in coffee maker and a double oven.Carrie McCormick of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate represented Jones but declined to comment on her client or even confirm his identity. However, she told Elite Street that the unit “has the most incredible views of our city and is a very exclusive, high-end building that offers both privacy and exclusivity for Chicago.”Advertisement“A lot of people like this building because it’s exclusive. It’s a boutique building in a great location and it offers very high-end amenities and finishes,” she said. “And it offers the best views in the city.”The sellers first listed the condo in January for $3.3 million.The condo had a $68,712 property tax bill in the 2020 tax year.Goldsborough is a freelance writer.Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news.

Sports

Column: Fans return to WNBA All-Star weekend in full force, but organizational missteps cause frustration

Women’s basketball legends Sheryl Swoopes and Dawn Staley sat courtside Sunday as the WNBA All-Stars took the floor at Wintrust Arena in front of a loud, energetic crowd.Retiring veterans Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles received flowers after the first quarter. Chicago-area native Candace Parker and her Sky teammate Courtney Vandersloot received the loudest welcomes from the home crowd.AdvertisementBut despite the celebratory atmosphere among the 9,572 fans inside the arena, some missteps overshadowed the league’s first All-Star weekend held in Chicago.The Seattle Storm’s Sue Bird waves to the crowd after receiving a bouquet of flowers because she is playing in her last WNBA All-Star Game on July 10, 2022, at Wintrust Arena. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)There was no shortage of demand to see Sunday’s game. According to ticket reseller Vivid Seats, the average ticket price on the secondary market was $164, the highest for a WNBA All-Star Game in the last five years — and 64% more than the second-highest.AdvertisementBut unlike past years, fans were not invited to attend Saturday’s 3-point and skills competitions. Instead of holding the events at Wintrust Arena, which was committed to host the Nike Nationals high school girls basketball tournament, the league staged them inside McCormick Place with temporary courts and bleachers.[ [Don’t miss] Chicago played host to WNBA All-Stars this weekend. Here’s what we saw — and heard — around the city. ]As the Sky’s Allie Quigley made history by winning her fourth 3-point competition, Sky fans were relegated to watching it on TV. The team invited “select premium” season ticket holders to a viewing party at a hospitality area inside McCormick Place. Other fans were expected to hang out at WNBA Live — an outdoor fan festival set up in the McCormick Place parking lot — while the events took place in the otherwise empty convention center.The fans in attendance during Saturday’s competition were youth basketball players competing in the Nike Nationals, many of whom seemed less than interested in what was taking place on the court.P.S. kudos to @chicagosky for hosting premium season ticket holders during the skills and 3-point challenges, but they obviously did not have room to accommodate everyone.Fans shouldn’t have to meet a certain threshold of ticket payment to be “included.”— Eric (@nemchocke) July 10, 2022

After two seasons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic — there was no All-Star Game in 2020 and attendance was limited last year — WNBA fans were excited to return to All-Star weekend festivities, with many booking flights from around the country once Chicago was announced as the host in late April.But they seemed to be the only ones planning ahead. Other parts of the planning — including schedules and locations not being released until the night before events — also dampened the festivities.“When we picked Chicago as a place for the All-Star Game, we knew we weren’t going to be able to have Wintrust Arena (on Saturday). It was already committed,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said when asked before Sunday’s game about fan frustrations surrounding Saturday’s events. “So given that, when we found that Nike Nationals was going to be here, we took this great opportunity to integrate the elite youth sports into our 3-point and skills competitions, so the competition was not outside.[ [Don’t miss] Sylvia Fowles steals the show in her final WNBA All-Star Game with a rare 3-pointer and dunk in Team Wilson’s rout ]“There’s also a lot going on in our world around security and even having an outdoor festival at this very crazy time as you see shootings and people driving into restaurants with outdoor diners and things like that. So as we were planning this last fall, we were trying to find the best thing to do to try to stand up at least a little bit of an outdoor festival, to have a fan festival element. We still have COVID out there. So you know, cobbling together everything that’s going on and coming off two tough COVID years and not having Wintrust available yesterday, it just wasn’t possible to have a fan event.Melissa Kramer, center, was the first fan in line for the WNBA All-Star Game on July 10, 2022, at Wintrust Arena. She is a huge fan of Sue Bird. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)“We didn’t have an arena that could happen in here in the city of Chicago. I understand the fans are frustrated not attending that, but again, last year we weren’t at 100%, the year before we didn’t have an All-Star Game, so we’re kind of just trying to build what All-Star weekend will look like. We’re just trying to do the best we could with the cards we were dealt this year.”AdvertisementFans weren’t the only ones who felt left out of the festivities. All of the 3-point and skills participants were either already in Chicago, such as Quigley and Sky teammate Azurá Stevens, or were coming to Chicago to play in Sunday’s game. The Los Angeles Sparks’ Lexie Brown, who’s tied for ninth in the league in 3-pointers made this season, joked on Twitter that she would have paid for her own airfare to take part in the competition.Tbh, i would’ve flown myself to participate 😂😂😂— Lexie Brown (@Lexiebrown) July 7, 2022

The @LASparks @Lexiebrown is 3rd in the @WNBA in 3-point percentage (45.9%) on over 4 attempts per game. She’s Top 10 in the league in total 3-pointers made this season.— LA Sparks PR (@LASparksPR) July 6, 2022

All-star weekends are about the players, but they’re also a celebration for the fans. The games don’t count, but they’re an opportunity for fans to see the league’s biggest stars assembled in one place.With Chicago’s scenic downtown as a backdrop and perfect summer weather on display, the WNBA managed to stifle what should’ve been a triumphant return for fans and missed an opportunity to win over more local residents.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 38Chicago Sky players Courtney Vandersloot, left, and Allie Quigley walk the orange carpet Friday during WNBA All-Star weekend in Chicago. (Quinn Harris / Getty Images)