The Sun released a piece suggesting that Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field and its latest renovations may do enough to bring college football back to the Northside. Why not the Bears too?
The last game the Chicago Bears played at Wrigley Field was in 1970. There were no Monsters of the Midway, the Chicago Cubs drought was (apparently) still intact and Wrigley Field was over a decade away from hosting its first night game.
But it’s not impossible that these renovations change all of that.
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Capacity could be a non-issue
The Bears moved from Wrigley Field to Soldier Field for two reasons: safety and capacity. The new renovations address the former. For a preseason matchup, capacity may not be an issue either.
In the 2017 NFL regular season, the Bears averaged 61,142 fans. It’s no stretch of the imagination to presume a preseason game would draw significantly fewer fans than their regular season average.
Sure, Wrigley Field’s 41,649 seats would nearly all be occupied. But its being at Wrigley Field would inflate ticket prices. It would have a legitimate chance to pull a greater gross profit than your average Bears’ preseason game.
Making a preseason game exciting
Let’s face it: preseason sports aren’t enjoyable. Wins don’t matter, your favorite players get hurt, and statistics just might give you unwarranted hype for that one prospect.
But the Bears at historic Wrigley Field—where they spent the first 50 years of their existence—would surely bring fans to the stadium. It could rise beyond Bears fandom and be a must-see event for the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs fans alike.
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Two franchises—separated by the dense city of Chicago—reunited. Two franchises, the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears, that have both since cemented their legacies into history books. It’s a long shot. But if college football can return to Wrigley Field, then perhaps Bears’ preseason can too.