April 15--The iconic Michael Jordan statue will be temporarily relocated Thursday -- but it won't be going far.
The statue will be relocated from the east side of the United Center to the southeast corner near Gate 5, a move of approximately 150 feet to the south, the Bulls announced Wednesday.
The Bulls said in January that the statue would need to be moved in preparation for construction of a new office building adjacent to the United Center. Only the body of the statue will be moved, the team said, with the pedestal base to be covered and kept in place during construction. The statue will be mounted onto a temporary base at its new location.
Plans call for the statue to be returned to its original location when construction is completed.
The Bulls released a tentative schedule for Thursday's relocation process (which they stressed will take several hours and is dependent on the construction process). The process is set to begin at 8 a.m., with the statue to be hoisted from its current spot at 9 a.m. and placed at its temporary location between 2-3 p.m.
The Bulls said they are committed to ensuring public access to the statue during construction and invited fans to visit it at its new location.
