Bears Planning on Fans for Training Camp
The Bears are officially planning to bring fans to the new Halas Hall in Lake Forest for the first time.
In a letter to the team's season ticket holders on Wednesday, team president and CEO Ted Phillips made the announcement along with another letting fans know they've been given the OK for 100% seating capacity at Soldier Field.
"Players will report to Halas Hall in late July for our first training camp in Lake Forest with fans since 1983," Phillips wrote.
The number of fans will be limited, according to the Bears
The old Halas Hall on the campus of Lake Forest College did allow fans in each summer on a daily basis for training camp but the old, cramped facility made it so very few could attend.
Training camp moved to University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 1984 and then in 2002 to Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill. before returning to Halas Hall last summer. At both locations, watching the Bears practice became a summer ritual for many fans.
However, the pandemic made it impossible to host fans at the practices last year when they held their first training camp at Halas Hall after leaving Bourbonnais.
How many fans can attend practices is anyone's guess. While Halas Hall is a large, ultramodern facility, the grounds are limited in accessibility. Parking could also be an issue, as well.
Halas Hall is located at 1920 Football Drive in Lake Forest, at the back of the Conway Industrial Park.
At games, Phillips said fully vaccinated fans and staff will not be required to wear face coverings this year but it will be "...encouraged for those who are not fully vaccinated.
"The health and safety of our fans will remain our number one priority." Phillips wrote.
The Bears plan to continue using mobile tickets for games and have also gone to a touchless entry process at Soldier Field so keys and phones do not need to be removed before going through metal detectors.
For ticket information to games, the Bears ticket office is 847-615-2327. More information on obtaining tickets for training camp will be forthcoming, along with information about tickets for the annual Meijer Family Fest practice at Soldier Field on Aug. 3.
Training camp's official opening date hasn't been announced but NFL Network reported it would be July 27. It is expected to be in the final week of July. The first preseason games are usually 15 days after the start of training camp, and the first Bears preseason game is noon, Aug. 14 at home against Miami.
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