"The Television Home of the Big Ten Conference" Located in Historic Chicago Landmark
The Big Ten Network announced in late December the official location for its studios and business offices in Chicago. The network will be headquartered in the historic Montgomery Ward building located in Chicago's Near North neighborhood. The announcement was made at a press conference at the site by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Jack Lavin, Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delaney, Fox Sports Networks President Bob Thompson and Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman.

The Big Ten Network studios will be located in a 44,000 square-foot office space at 600 West Chicago, formerly the Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House. The original section of the building was designated as a national historic landmark in 2000 for its significant role in American retail history. The space will include two studios and three control rooms as well as a 20,000 square-foot office space.

"It is fitting that the Big Ten Network, a channel dedicated exclusively to collegiate athletics and university life, will make its home in Chicago, a city that is so passionate about college sports and education," said Delaney.

"Like our Olympic bid, the launch of this network in Chicago is one more indication of Chicago's long-term commitment to amateur and Olympic sports," said Mayor Daley. "We love athletics at every level, and that includes the Big Ten. Chicago is filled with Big Ten graduates. If you walk through many of our neighborhoods on a Saturday afternoon in the fall, you'll see banners of Big Ten schools hanging on front porches and apartment windows."

The Governor and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity are providing a nearly $3.2 million business investment package to support the Big Ten Network.

"Chicago is the country's third largest media market, and the largest market in the Big Ten footprint," said Thompson. "It's centrally located to the Big Ten's 11 member institutions, and they'll all be involved in the network's rich programming content, be it sports- or institutionally-related."

"The space that the Big Ten Network will occupy in the former Montgomery Ward building is perfect for our office and studio needs," added Silverman. "The production facilities we plan to construct will be state-of-the-art, and we're looking forward to building-out the space immediately so it will be completed well in advance of our August launch."

The Big Ten Network will carry many of the games and events previously available only through syndication, providing greater exposure for these and other Big Ten sports. The sports programming on the Big Ten Network and/or through alternative Big Ten Network platforms will include, but is not limited to:

The Big Ten Conference's compelling athletic competition positions the network as the go-to destination for Big Ten alumni and fans across the nation. In addition to traditional distribution through cable and satellite, select Big Ten Network content will also be available through alternative media platforms such as the Internet, iPods, cell phones and/or other emerging technologies.

The real estate agreement was negotiated by Robert Sevim, David Gordon, Kelly Givins with Studley Inc. on behalf of the Big Ten Network and Brad Despot and Gary Kostecki with Jones Lang LaSalle on behalf of the building ownership group of Taconic Investment Partners, Angelo Gordon & Co., Centrum Properties and Amerimar Enterprises. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.