KINGS Dining & Entertainment is a 27,000-square-foot complex featuring 20 ten-pin bowling lanes, a full-service restaurant, table games and the Draft Room, a modern riff on the sports bar. It has three 14-foot HD LED display panels, made-from-scratch cuisine and 40 draft beers. Meant as a destination for get-togethers with friends, fun dates, special occasions, corporate events, family outings and watching the game, the facility offers roomy player accommodations, upscale bar fare, craft beers and signature cocktails. Stand out menu choices include Mediterranean dip trio; salads; pizza; Cuban and smoked brisket sandwiches and award-winning wings. Burgers are made from a premium proprietary mix of brisket, Angus and chuck and seared on a flat-top grill. During summer, three garage doors open to an expanded beer garden-style patio. Look for weekday specials for bowling and various table games.

The Rosemont outpost of the indoor amusement chain adds over 40,000 sq. ft. of HDTV’s, glowing cocktails, more than 160 arcade games, private event space and sports bar menu of apps, burgers and bowls to the Pearl District of Rosemont. It’s Vegas-lite for kids, laugh-out-loud fun for adults playing air hockey, racing and shooting games, and high-tech carnival-type games of chance. D&B has revamped its menu and has 23 new chef-crafted menu items including trendy roasted cauliflower and Korean sticky ribs and even kind of healthy – try a vegetarian chimichurri bowl, fire-grilled salmon or a salad if you don’t want to go over your calorie count. Kids can wear themselves out in the arcade while parents sip Margaritas, an Old Fashioned or Glow Kones containing a flashing cube that may help Junior locate Mom or Dad. Thursdays, the Rosemont fireworks can be seen from D & B’s parking lot.

If you’re a fan of Big 10 sports then you’ll want to visit this unique museum in Parkway Bank Park. It’s dedicated to the history and highlights of the mens’ and womens’ sports teams from the Big 10, a division which consists mostly of colleges in the Midwest. The museum includes 13 interactive exhibits, a theater, and even things like a photo op with the Heisman trophy. Look up stats, learn about the league’s sports legends, listen to famous TV or radio calls from certain games, or play an interactive game where you catch a football, stop a soccer ball or block a hockey puck.

iFLY lets fliers experience the thrill of skydiving in the safety of an indoor, vertical wind tunnel. Located in Rosemont, just minutes away from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, the indoor skydiving attraction lets fliers feel the wind in their face and the rush in their bones as they float effortlessly into the air. The experience begins with a safety lesson and tutorial, and then the friendly instructors help you fly. Sometimes the instructors will do some tricks for the crowd, which circles the glass tunnel. Videos of your flight are available for purchase. It’s a popular activity for couples, families and even seniors. It’s worth a go at least once.

Allstate Arena’s 18,500 seats make it one of the largest indoor entertainment facilities in Chicago. It hosts A-list music concerts, family shows, sporting events and a massive flea market in the parking lot on Sunday mornings. The arena is home to the Chicago Wolves (AHL) and WWE shows. Some of the big shows in 2021 include Blake Shelton Friends And Heroes 2021 Tour; Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin; Marc Anthony; Andrea Bocelli; and Simone Biles’ Gold Over America Tour. Video screens and good sight lines make it easy to enjoy the show regardless of where you are seated. There is plenty of on-site parking although as expected, it can take some time to leave the lot after a popular performance or game.

Bub City is the saloon to visit for barbecue, whiskey and live country music when you’re out west – er…Rosemont. Choose among 125 different whiskeys, snacks that hit the spot like fried pickles; guac, pimento cheese and chips; tots piled with cheese, bacon and sour cream; or Prime beef meatballs if you’re going keto. There are also two-fisted burgers and sandwiches, tavern pizza, and and a whole lotta barbecue. The venue partners with legendary Joe’s Bar on Weed Street and the newer Joe’s Live (just steps away) so visitors can expect to see emerging talent featured on center stage. Currently, Bub City presents live acoustic music sets every Friday and Saturday evening and Joe’s Live resumes country music concerts in fall, 2021. In addition to the dining room, there’s outdoor seating on the patio with heaters to keep the chill away in cooler weather.

The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center hosts plenty of trade shows, to be sure, but there are also more than a few exciting public shows that anyone can attend. The colossal exhibition space may be filled with masquerades, cosplay meetups, concerts and dances during Anime Central. Be wowed by the artistic ink during the Chicago Tattoo Arts Convention and the National Sports Collectors Convention attracts collectors and dealers of trading cards, autographs and other sports related memorabilia. Want to start your own cannabis business? Canna Con is for you. Some of your favorite athletes will be on hand for meet-and-greets, photo-ops, and autograph signings at the Chicago Sports Spectacular. Thousands converge here during Wizard World Chicago to dive deeper into pop culture via . movies, comics, toys, video games, Anime, Manga, art and collectibles. And who isn’t ready to explore thousands of vacation options at the Travel & Adventure Show?

Fashion Outlets of Chicago opened in 2013 and quickly became one of the most popular shopping spots near Chicago for tourists and locals. The mall’s upper level has high end stores like Burberry, Longchamp and Prada, with the first-floor occupied by favorites like Nike, GAP, PUMA and Saks. There’s a shuttle to the mall from O’Hare International Airport, which is just a few minutes away. The mall’s guest services area offers a wide range of travel-related services, including airline baggage storage and boarding pass printing. The mall also has several food options, including healthy food from Freshii, vegetarian at Maoz, or confections from Lindt, Häagen-Dazs or Godiva.

The world-class ballpark, Impact Field is a new $63 million development with 6,300 seats, seven private seating experiences, a 360-degree open concourse, and tons of stadium garage parking spaces. The equally new Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball run the bases here during home games. The team is named after Chicago’s and baseball’s favorite food and if you compare the Chicago
Dogs’ logo to the city’s flag, you’ll notice the same colors and stars surrounding the hot dog graphic. The 2021 season features 50 home games and Butch Hobson, who managed the Boston Red Sox for three seasons, is the first manager of the Chicago Dogs. Locals will be thrilled to know that the world’s second Wiener’s Circle location calls the ballpark home. Expect signature items like char dogs and char burgers.

Parkway Bank Park is home to 15 venues including restaurants, live music spaces, Zanie’s Comedy Club, state-of-the-art 18-screen movie theater, bowling and more. The entertainment district also boasts a common area for outdoor seasonal activities, including a climate controlled NHL sized ice rink for skating during winter and free concerts in the summer. There’s an interactive digital museum, The Big Ten Experience, offering free admission and iFLY, an indoor skydiving experience. You can dine at Bub City for Southern favorites and live bands; Adobe Gila’s for Mexican fare; Fogo de Chao for meat heavy Brazilian food; and Five Roses offers an Irish pub atmosphere and eats. The aptly named Sugar Factory sells specialty candies and ice cream and also has a cafe menu (think Red Velvet pancakes and Cotton Candy Cosmopolitans). Crust Pizza Bar is scheduled to open in summer 2021