When the Chicago Bears travel 100 miles south from Halas Hall in Lake Forest to Bourbonnais, Illinois, they will be ready for their 16th consecutive Training Camp on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University. This partnership brings together the oldest professional football organization with its most loyal fans in an easily accessible, quality setting.
Team practices open to the public begin on Thursday, July 27, and continue as scheduled through Tuesday, August 13, 2017. Fans are welcomed to watch the team practice during scheduled times. This year, for the first time, they must have FREE tickets to enter. There is no admission charge. Click here to get FREE tickets.
“Having this opportunity to work with Head Coach John Fox and the Bears organization never loses its excitement,” said Jeff Domagalski, Olivet’s director of community relations. “We look forward to welcoming the team and all of the fans back to campus this year.”
A complete schedule and list of special theme days is available at ChicagoBears.com, along with the team’s official mobile app for Android, iPhone/iPod Touch, Windows Phone and other devices.
Special features of this year’s Training Camp include several theme days, a Bears NFL merchandise store on site, autograph sessions and a Youth Football Day.
This year, 21 of 32 teams (66 percent) will stay home and hold training camp at their regular practice facility, home stadium or at a site within 10 miles of their team headquarters. The Bears continue to travel for training camp because they recognize the value of this effort for players, coaches and fans. The team appreciates the outstanding facilities available at Olivet, including four full grass fields and the 168,000-square-foot recreation center.
Bears Training Camp brings 75,000 to 100,000 people to the greater Kankakee area each summer. In addition to having opportunities to meet and interact with the players, fans also frequent the many restaurants, shopping and lodging options available to them.
Breaking news about the team and players, camp events and other activities is reported by Chicago media, the third largest media market in the country. A variety of sports media and other news organizations — including Chicago Bears Network TV and Radio, ESPN, NFL.com, Comcast SportsNet, Chicago Tribune and The Daily Journal — also report from Bourbonnais.
Chicago Bears’ George Halas founded professional football in 1920 and led the move to form the American Professional Football Association, which later became the NFL. His first team, the Decatur Staleys, became the Chicago Bears. The team’s history includes nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl, and more than 740 victories on the field. To date, 32 from this organization have been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
