Did the United Center ice look different to you last night while you watched the Chicago Blackhawks hammer the Detroit Red Wings B-team 6-1 in Chicago’s preseason opener? Perhaps you were in attendance and thought there was an unexpected brightness to what you were looking at from the 300 Level.
It wasn’t your eyes.
Here’s what the inside of the United Center looked like from the press box during the 2016-17 season:
And here’s what it looked like last night:
Photos courtesy of @CRoumeliotis on Twitter
Completely different look, isn’t it? Like going from standard definition television to a high-definition screen. The ice in the above photo almost looks rusty underneath those dim lights. But the new-and-improved LED lights inside the United Center turn the ice into a brilliant shade of white.
The stadium had already seen significant improvements on the exterior, with multiple video/LED screens greeting Blackhawks fans on their way to the building. Now it’s better on the inside, too, and isn’t that what really counts?