10:05 a.m. CDT
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is at the United Center wearing a Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews (tayvz) black replica jersey.
Rauner told reporters it’s a ”great day for the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois.” The governor said Thursday that the parade and rally at Soldier Field are ”fantastic (ways) to celebrate one of the greatest franchises in all of sports.”
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also plans on participating in the festivities.
When the Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years on Monday night he promised the city would host a celebration worthy of a dynasty.
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10:00 a.m. CDT
Chants of ”We want the Cup! We want the Cup!” rang out from fans outside the United Center as Chicago Blackhawks players prepared to board red double-decker buses for their Stanley Cup championship parade.
Two rows of buses are in the stadium’s south parking lot awaiting Blackhawks players, coaches and staff. Nearby, fans waited behind metal fences by the statue of another athlete who brought a championship dynasty to Chicago: Michael Jordan.
The Blackhawks will ride atop the buses on a parade route through downtown Chicago to a rally planned at Soldier Field, where more fans are waiting.
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9:15 a.m. CDT
Downtown Chicago is filled with soggy Blackhawks fans after a thunderstorm moved over the area just hours before the team’s Stanley Cup championship festivities were scheduled to start.
Organizers at Soldier Field, where the team’s rally will take place Thursday, asked attendees to take shelter under covered areas of the stadium until the storm passed. When the rain stopped, thousands of fans ran out from the concourse to grab the closest spots to the stage.
Meanwhile fans lined up along the parade route wore ponchos and used umbrellas to shield themselves from the rain.
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8:25 a.m. CDT
The National Weather Service says a line of thunderstorms with winds of between 30 and 40 mph and occasional lightning is headed toward downtown Chicago where thousands of Blackhawks fans are gathered for the team’s Stanley Cup celebration.
The weather service put out a special weather statement just before 8 a.m. Thursday saying the impacted locations include Soldier Field, where the Blackhawks championship rally is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. A parade is planned for 10 a.m.
Torrential rainfall is forecast and the weather service says people should ”seek a safe shelter inside a building or vehicle.”
Thousands of fans were downtown as early as 4:30 a.m. Thursday for the festivities.
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7:50 a.m. CDT
The rally doesn’t start for hours, but hundreds of Chicago Blackhawks fans are already lined up outside Soldier Field in preparation for the team’s Stanley Cup celebration.
Some fans arrived as early as 4:30 a.m. – six and a half hours before the scheduled 11 a.m. start. A parade to the stadium through the city’s Loop and to Michigan Avenue starts at 10 a.m.
Fans snoozed and played card games to pass the time. Others talked about how excited they are to see their favorite players, including Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews (tayvz).
The city planned to have screens outside the stadium in the south parking lot for fans who can’t get inside Soldier Field. Tickets to the event are free.
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7:15 a.m. CDT
The thousands of Blackhawks fans already out in the streets to get good spots for Thursday’s parade are probably going to get wet.
National Weather Service meteorologist Amy Seeley says a line of thunderstorms will more than likely sweep across downtown Chicago between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
And there could be more where that came from. There’s a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 p.m.
The tops of the city’s skyscrapers are shrouded in dense fog but that should lift in time for any TV news helicopters to follow the parade.
Hey, at least it’s warm. The high is forecast to reach 83 degrees.
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6:30 a.m. CDT
The Chicago Police Department is taking security measures to ensure the safety of the thousands of Blackhawks fans expected to attend a parade and rally celebrating the team’s Stanley Cup win.
Police say anyone carrying a backpack or large bag to Thursday’s events will be screened. Coolers will not be allowed at the Soldier Field rally and drinking alcohol or tailgating are not allowed.
The city warns that crowd size may mean additional street closures throughout the day to ensure public safety.
Fans attending the rally will be allowed to bring unopened water bottles and water will be available from fountains and vendors.
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12:30 a.m. CDT
The streets of downtown Chicago will be lined with hockey fans as the city celebrates the Blackhawks’ third Stanley Cup win in six years.
Team members such as Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will ride on double-decker buses during a parade stretching through the city’s Loop neighborhood to Michigan Avenue starting at 10 a.m. Thursday. Tens of thousands of fans are expected to greet the team when the buses arrive at Soldier Field for a rally starting at 11 a.m. Fans needed to get free tickets online for the event.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel promises a celebration ”worthy of a hockey dynasty.”
The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup on Monday night with a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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