LAKE FOREST – It’s another sign that the football season is getting closer as the Bears have set their schedule to begin training for the 2022 season.
For the first time since it moved to Halas Hall, there will be no COVID-19 restrictions for the fans who make the trek to see the team’s workouts.
New head coach Matt Eberflus will have players report to training camp on Tuesday, July 26th and then have their first practice the next day. The first workout open to fans is Thursday, July 28th, and will be one of 11 practices that will feature spectators, with the last being on Saturday, August 20th.
The Bears’ annual Family Fest at Soldier Field, the only open practice at the team’s home stadium during training camp, will be Tuesday, August 9th at 10:35 AM.
One change from the Matt Nagy era is a 10 AM start to workouts, which is later than the previous regime, with only the Family Fest day featuring a start other than that time.
So how can fans get tickets?
Everyone who attends practice at Halas Hall will be required to have a free ticket, which will be distributed by the team online on their website here starting on Thursday, July 7th at 10 AM. There will be no lottery as there was in 2021 with fans able to buy up to four tickets per workout.
Fans can’t park around Halas Hall but can park at nearby Hawthorn Mall for free and take a shuttle bus to team headquarters. The procedure for the distribution for the team’s Family Fest at Soldier Field is still to be determined.
This is the third year that the Bears have held training camp at Halas Hall after holding it in Bourbonnais from 2002-2019. In 2020, no fans were allowed in due to the COVID-19 pandemic and there were still restrictions during camp in 2021.