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Soldier Field facts for kids

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Soldier Field
Stadium in a Park
Soldier Field Logo.svg
Soldier field 2006.jpg
Soldier Field in October 2006
Soldier Field is located in Chicago
Soldier Field
Soldier Field
Location in Chicago
Soldier Field is located in Illinois
Soldier Field
Soldier Field
Location in Illinois
Soldier Field is located in the United States
Soldier Field
Soldier Field
Location in the United States
Former names Municipal Grant Park Stadium (1924–1925)
Address 1410 S Museum Campus Drive
Location Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates 41°51′44″N 87°37′00″W / 41.8623°N 87.6167°W / 41.8623; -87.6167
Public transit Mainline rail interchange Metra Metra: 18th Street
Chicago Transit Authority Logo.svg Roosevelt
Red Orange Green
Owner Chicago Park District
Operator SMG
Executive suites 133
Capacity 66,944 (1994)
61,500 (2003)
Acreage 7 acres (2.8 ha)
Surface Kentucky Bluegrass
(1924–1970, 1988–present)
AstroTurf (1971–1987)
Construction
Broke ground August 11, 1922
Opened October 9, 1924
100 years ago
Renovated 2002–2003
Closed January 19, 2002 –
September 26, 2003 (renovations)
Construction cost US$13 million (original)
($222 million in 2015 dollars)
$632 million (2001–2003 renovation)
Renovations: ($1.01 billion in 2015 dollars )
Architect Holabird & Roche
Wood + Zapata, Inc.
Lohan Caprile Goettsch Architects
Project manager Hoffman Associates
Structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti
Services engineer Ellerbe Becket
General contractor Turner/Barton Malow/Kenny
Tenants
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football (NCAA) (1929)
Chicago Rockets/Hornets (AAFC) (1946–1949)
Chicago Cardinals (NFL) (1959)
UIC Chikas football (NCAA) (1966–1973)
Chicago Spurs (NPSL) (1967)
Chicago Owls (CFL) (1968–1969)
Chicago Bears (NFL) (1971–2001, 2003–present)
Chicago Sting (NASL) (1975–1976)
Chicago Fire (WFL) (1974)
Chicago Winds (WFL) (1975)
Chicago Blitz (USFL) (1983–1984)
Chicago Fire FC (MLS) (1998–2001, 2003–2005, 2020–present)
Chicago Enforcers (XFL) (2001)
Designated: 1987
Delisted: 2006

Soldier Field is an American football stadium located in the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, near Downtown Chicago. It opened in 1924 and is the home field of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), who moved there in 1971, and Chicago Fire FC of Major League Soccer (MLS), who will begin playing at the stadium in 2020. It has a football capacity of 61,500, and it is the oldest stadium in the NFL.

The stadium's interior was rebuilt as part of a major renovation project in 2002, which modernized the facility but lowered seating capacity, while also causing it to be delisted as a National Historic Landmark. Soldier Field has served as the home venue for a number of other sports teams in its history, including the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL, University of Notre Dame football, as well as games from the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, and multiple CONCACAF Gold Cup championships. In 1968, it hosted the first Games of the Special Olympics.

Images for kids

  • Child,Mother,Father,MilitaryFamily

    Sculpture of a sailor and his family, gazing eastward over Lake Michigan

  • 8X10A 1961 Chicago Bears o-line practice 1

    The 1961 Chicago Bears practicing for the Armed Forces exhibition game at Soldier Field. The team would later move into the stadium full-time in 1971.

  • Soldier Field Chicago aerial view

    Soldier Field aerial view (1998) before interior redesign

  • Soldierfield2002

    Aerial view of Soldier Field during renovation, April 2002

  • The Soldier Field

    The Soldier Field after interior rebuild

  • Soldier Field W 2022

    Soldier Field in 2022 from the east

  • The Army-Navy football game at Soldier's Field (cropped)

    Soldier Field during the 1926 Army–Navy Game

  • 2014 NHL Stadium Series, Soldier Field

    Soldier Field during the 2014 NHL Stadium Series between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Pittsburgh Penguins

  • The Refurbished Soldier Field

    Soldier Field before a soccer game, 2004

  • UsavsHonduras

    Soldier Field during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup

  • XXVIII International Eucharistic Congress, First General Meeting, Solemn Pontifical High Mass

    Eucharistic Congress in 1926

  • FDR-Soldier-Field-October-28-1944

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt at Soldier Field, 1944

  • Douglas MacArthur speaking at Soldier Field HD-SN-99-03036

    Gen. Douglas MacArthur at Soldier Field, 1951

  • Gay Games 2006, Chicago

    Opening ceremonies of the 2006 Gay Games at Soldier Field

  • Holt tractor Soldier Field Chicago 1924

    Soldier Field nearing completion, 1924

  • Soldierfield2003reno

    The stadium mid-renovation in March 2003.

  • Soldier Field aerial

    Aerial view of the stadium in 2008.

  • Soldier-Field-01

    Soldier Field as seen from Lake Shore Drive in 2013.

  • Soldier field

    View from Northerly Island

  • Soldier Field (14905141281)

    The scenery around Soldier Field.

  • Soldier Field Chicago

    Exterior of Soldier Field, with a sign reading "Dedicated to the men and women of the armed services".

  • 20070110 Soldier Field Bronze Mural (1)

    Front of bronze mural

  • Soldier Field

    View towards the western grandstand's cantilever over the original western colonnade

  • 20210220 Soldier from NEMA

    View from NEMA, 2021

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Soldier Field para niños

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