Fans Still in Plans for Bears at Soldier Field Games

Team president and CEO Ted Phillips said the plan remains to allow fans at Soldier Field but it's tentative and may need to be altered

There will be fans at Soldier Field for Bears games, according to  president and CEO Ted Phillips. 

Whether he can say the same as the season gets close remains to be seen.

During part of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce's virtual meeting, Phillips said the Bears are proceeding as if fans will be in Soldier Field -- for now.

‘‘We’re still extremely hopeful, confident, that we’re gonna have a season with fans,’’ Phillips said. "It's only good business practice to look at contingencies, and if we've learned anything in the past three months, it's to expect the unexpected. ... But we're still extremely hopeful."

Unlike the NHL's Blackhawks, baseball's Cubs and White Sox and the NBA's Bulls, the Bears have yet to lose a game to the virus. This doesn't mean they expect to get through this season without a problem.

Already before practices have started, several NFL players have reported having COVID-19, including Dallas' Ezekiel Elliott and Denver's Von Miller.

"With football you have more physical contact, so we know there's going to be some positive tests," Phillips told the chamber. "We know there will be in every sport."

It's Phillips' belief the process can be streamlined enough to ensure safety.

"When there's enough testing and there's quick results, we'll be able to show the players that they can be kept safe," he said. "The goal is ... if someone tests positive, identify them, isolate them, treat them and keep moving on with our game. And I think we'll be able to do that."

The league plans to monitor the opening of other spots.

Currently the Bears are set to open preseason play at Soldier Field at noon on Aug. 15 against the Cleveland Browns. The regular season begins Sept. 13 at Detroit.

It's possible the preseason schedule could be cut back and Phillips said, "...flexibility is built in."

Any plans for fans at Soldier Field would have to comply with the recovery plan instituted under Gov. J.B. Pritzker for the state of Illinois. Currently gatherings of such size are not permitted. The plan doesn't allow for crowds of that size until there is a widespread acknowledged treatment for the illness or a vaccine, but Pritzker has been adjusting his plan in recent weeks. 

The Bears have been told by the league to be ready to report to camp at Halas Hall on July 20 at this point, according to defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. 

It's possible they could bring in the rookies before veterans.

"I'm pretty sure (July 20) is the date the league has put out for everybody right now," Pagano said. "Everybody will handle it differently whether you bring rookies in at that time. That's kind of the date that we're working off of.

"Coach (Matt Nagy) knows and he's been very open with all of us. That's fluid. So the league is working through a ton of stuff themselves with protocol and how it's actually gonna look. I don't think anybody really knows."

It's been common for the Bears to bring rookies in during the week prior to training camp's official start to get them better indoctrinated. The lack of offseason work for them could make it even more essential this year.

Pagano thought back to the beginning of the COVID-19 shutdowns in the league and said they'll have to be flexible about training camp's start and the season's start, just like they were earlier this year.

"And so just like we adapted on March 12 or March 13 when they walked in and said 'hey, download your computers, load up your office, take what you need, and we're going to send you home and we'll let you know when you can come back,' " Pagano said. "I don't think anybody anticipated it would be towards the end of July would be the first time you'd get back."

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven