End of an era in Chicago: 'Circus Trip' is no more

Count this as the final installment of the November tradition that is the Chicago Bulls' and Blackhawks' so-called "Circus Trip."

For several years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has been moving into the United Center at this time of year, forcing the Bulls and Blackhawks into fortnight-long road trips. That apparently ends now, as the arena will cease their contract with "The Greatest Show on Earth."

"The reason we're doing this is twofold. One is that in future years the Bulls and Blackhawks no longer have to endure two two-week road trips, and a subset of that is that those trips had resulted in a compression of our home schedules," United Center vice-president of operations Terry Savarise told the Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc. "There were times when you'd have four home games in a one-week period, which fans didn't like."

The Blackhawks are on a seven-game western road trip, while the Bulls head west as well for five games before a stop in Philadelphia.