Bears move training camp to Halas Hall

After 18 years in Bourbonnais and before that Plattville, Wis. and way, way back in Rensselaer, Ind. Chicago Bears Training Camp is moving to Halas Hall in Lake Forest, the team announced Tuesday.

This comes as little shock to anyone that’s been paying attention the last two years as the Bears just finished sinking a reported $100 million into Halas Hall to make it a state-of-the-art facility.

For fans this comes as bittersweet news, as the Bears maintain that fans will still be able to take in practice, albeit in a yet-to-be-announced fashion. From the team’s website:

Fans will still have the opportunity to watch practices for free at Halas Hall. A limited number of free tickets will be available to attend the practices. Additional details regarding the training camp schedule and free public tickets will be announced in the spring.

I have Thoughts on this that I’ll parse out into a bigger post soon, but for now I’ll just say that gone are the days of lining up early to make sure you get into a primo spot for practice and autographs.

Most teams have moved their training camps to their home facilities because it makes more financial and logistical sense, but it leaves some fans on the outside looking in.

What will you miss most about Bourbonnais and traditional old-fashioned training camp?