NEWSLETTER
So long, BEARbonnais.
The Olivet Nazarene University campus in Bourbonnais has been the home of Chicago Bears training camp for 18 years, but its time hosting training camp has come to an end.
Beginning this year Bears training camp will be held at Halas Hall.
Additional details regarding the 2020 training camp schedule & limited free public tickets will be available later this spring after our 2020 regular season schedule has been announced.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 14, 2020
We are grateful to Olivet Nazarene University and the communities of Bourbonnais, Kankakee and Bradley for 18 great years of hosting Chicago Bears Training Camp.
Thank you. pic.twitter.com/QBjKQamHm7
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 14, 2020
Chicago is moving its entire training camp to the team’s Halas Hall facilities in Lake Forest starting this summer. It will be a closer drive for players, coaches, and staff, but ending tradition isn’t going to be easy to swallow.
I suppose the good news here is that the Bears have stated there will be opportunities for fans to watch practices for free at Halas Hall. In a team-released statement, Bears President/CEO Ted Phillips said: “We will host training camp practices at Halas Hall in 2020, while maintaining a public component to many of the sessions to incorporate our loyal and passionate fans.” But still … I imagine tickets (and open practices) will be limited in number, especially compared to the open spaces Bourbonnais had to offer.
Halas Hall has been upgraded under the direction of Bears GM Ryan Pace. And with teams (the Bears included) putting more money into their own facilities, there has been a growing number of franchises ditching traditional training camp to return to their home base where practices and operations take place.
The Bears’ new digs look pretty sweet, and I hope to check them out next summer when training camp opens up. Because if the fans get shut out from training camp, it will just add to the pile of complaints from fans who already have had it up to here after a disappointing 2019 campaign.
