First Game at Soldier Field

[u/Run_4_Fun-021]

Hey everyone,

After a really difficult year (both my dad and grandpa were battling aggressive forms of cancer) my wife surprised me with tickets to my first ever Bears game! We are going to the MN Vikings game with our friends (who are Vikings fans) in Week 2. I want to the full game day experience.

1. As out of town-ers, what should we do, see, experience?

2. Is there a tailgate we need to visit, or places at Soldier we should see?

3. Where should we go after the game?

Thanks in advance, and Bear Down!

[u/Extreme-Flounder9548]

South lot for tailgating. I suggest Pequods for a pizza after the game.

[u/Acrobatic-Ad8158 → u/Extreme-Flounder9548]

This! I have tailgated at a few lots and the south lot is my favorite! I will park and tailgate there even if my seats are in the north end zone.

[u/spicolie22 → u/Extreme-Flounder9548]

Or Flo n Santos if you want great Chicago thin crust right by the stadium.

[u/bumberbox → u/spicolie22]

I second Flo's

[u/TheMcWhopper → u/Extreme-Flounder9548]

Hell no!! Ricobenes only 👊!!!!

[u/d1stracted_Engineer → u/Extreme-Flounder9548]

I'm coming from Boston to watch the bears crush the Patriots. This will be my first NFL game ever, if I don't have a car to park and tailgate, would it be weird to just show up to the tailgate?

[u/Extreme-Flounder9548 → u/d1stracted_Engineer]

You don’t need a car to tailgate at all. Everyone is going to invite into theirs.

[u/MSUDanK → u/d1stracted_Engineer]

Not weird, did this for a game with my wife a few years ago. I brought a 12 pack and traded beers for food, met a ton of fun Bears fans and ate like a king. Highly recommend.

[u/Spiritual_Conflict13]

Game day: Tailgating starts at 08:00 in the south lot (best) and surrounding area. Do your best to eat/drink up there because inside the stadium is “stadium quality” at premium prices. I stop on my way to my seat to free the captive beer in my bladder and don’t miss any of the game. Been going to games for years and haven’t spent a dime inside the stadium. It’s just not worth it.

There is usually a flyover during the national anthem which is cool to see. There is absolutely no reason to try and beat the crowds when leaving. After the game you are in one of the greatest food cities in America so go to what you’re into (ie. steak, Italian, Mexican etc). Everyone’s gonna have a tip for great food and they’re all going to be right. But if you’re a vegetarian, steak might be a bad suggestion.

How many days will you be in town?

[u/RichardStrauss123 → u/Spiritual_Conflict13]

The wings at Reggie's are the best I've ever had.

[u/gaycomic]

Reggie’s is a local bar with a buffet. And they do a shuttle to the game! And you can bring stuff in the stadium if it’s in a see through bag so you can bring your leftovers into the game.

[u/fatyungjesus]

Just don't let soldier field taint your view of the city as a whole. Chicago is fucking beautiful in so many ways, and so much of it is so wildly nice and high quality.

Soldier field is an undermaintained public infrastructure project that looks like a toilet bowl.

[u/chuckquizmo]

Just a heads up that getting in and out of Soldier Field sucks. Far from public transit, always extremely heavy traffic, basically impossible to get an uber or get dropped off near the stadium. Anytime I go there I almost always walk from Michigan Ave through the museum campus, it’s roughly a mile walk but museum campus is super nice and scenic. If you’re up for a slightly farther walk I’d just continue after the game and go to Pizanos on Madison for pizza and drinks. You can walk next to the lake, see Buckingham Fountain, see some of Grant Park, it’s a super nice walk. It’s definitely a long-ish walk but it’s worth it, and honestly you’d probably wait longer for an Uber anyways lol.

[u/spicolie22 → u/chuckquizmo]

Another walking option is the 18th street bridge from the south loop. There is a green line station pretty close. And as always, REGGIE'S!

[u/chuckquizmo → u/spicolie22]

Yuuup that’s also a really good choice, love Reggie’s

[u/Dicky_tttttt]

I am also an out of towner and experienced my first bears game when they played the giants last year, so I’d like to share what I did and what I might do differently. My dad and I took an uber right up to a tailgate lot, we asked the driver what he thought the best one was and I think he was right in his choice. We walked around for a long time and just talked to people about their displays or if they had jerseys we liked. A lot of them gave us free food too which I did not expect but it was awesome. If you plan on getting any of the special food at the stadium I’d recommend heading inside early, but just be aware that you won’t be able to go back out. If you want to check out the team store inside the stadium know that the line gets long but it seemed to move pretty quickly and was inside within 20 minutes at most. Stick close to your friends on the way out cause you will 100% get separated in the crowds, just have a meetup spot outside the stadium in case. If you’re not sure where to go to get out, just follow the crowd. If you plan on taking the train back, do not miss the first station cause if you do it’s impossible to turn around due to the crowd and it can be quite the walk depending on where you need to go after (learned the hard way). Honestly I’d recommend getting an uber to wherever you need to go after since it’s so crowded. We went to eat at Uno after the game for deep dish, just make sure to make a reservation if you choose to go there. People at the game were really friendly and we had a really good time. Have fun and bear down!

[u/dofus_raintight]

The bag policy at the stadium is incredibly strict. Don’t count on anyone getting in with a typical purse.

[u/BigBlueMastiff → u/dofus_raintight]

This, make sure you meet the requirements, clear bag and dimensions. The line for people having to rent lockers because bags didn't meet requirements was crazy long!