(670 The Score) The Bears will no longer make the trek down Interstate 57 each summer, announcing Tuesday that their training camp will be held at their home base of Halas Hall in Lake Forest beginning in 2020. That will bring an end to the Bears' 18-year partnership with Olivet Nazarene University for practices in Bourbonnais.
The Bears made the decision after completing a renovation of Halas Hall last August that included a 162,500-square-foot football operations facility.
"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," team president Ted Phillips said in a statement. "Olivet Nazarene University continues to be a valued and committed partner, but with the recent investment in our campus expansion and state-of-the-art facilities in Lake Forest, we feel it is important to stay home for training camp. We would like to thank Olivet Nazarene University, including president John Bowling, and the Bourbonnais community for their 18 years of partnership and hospitality."
The Bears indicated that there will be "free public tickets" still available for fans to attend training camp, but details will be released at a later date.
In 2019, 22 of the NFL's 32 teams held their training camps at team facilities rather than traveling off site.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
