“Bearbonnais” is officially over for the Chicago Bears, as the team announced their plans to move their training camp practices from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais to their headquarters at Halas Hall in Lake Forest on Tuesday afternoon.
The move marks the end of an era for both the Bears and their fans, as the team has called ONU home for 18 years, making the move from Platteville, WI after practicing at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville from 1984-2001.
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 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,” said Bears president and CEO Ted Phillips.
The move coincides with the recent renovations at Halas Hall that were completed in August 2019.
While the Bears will continue to hold public practices, the amount of tickets will be “limited” and crowds are not likely to reach the size of those in attendance at ONU, reaching as high as 9,000 over the last five years. Additional details will be released later this spring following the regular season schedule.
With the announcement, the Bears also thanked ONU, the village of Bourbonnais and the surrounding cities for all of their support over the years.
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
The Bears will hold training camp practices in late July.
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