Soldier Field Game Day Guide
Chicago Bears · Chicago, IL
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
Clear bags may be no larger than 12 x 6 x 12 inches; one-gallon clear freezer bags and non-clear bags no larger than 4.5 x 6.5 inches are also permitted.
Medical bags are accepted after inspection, while diapers must be carried in an approved clear bag unless medically necessary.
- Bag storage
Gameday lockers for prohibited items are available for a $10 credit-card-only rental fee.
Locker locations are at the Field Museum East Terrace near McFetridge Drive and at the 18th Street turnaround west of DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
- Gate opening
Soldier Field gates open two hours before kickoff for Bears games.
- Mobile tickets
Bears home games require a mobile ticket in the Bears app, Ticketmaster app, or a phone's mobile wallet; PDFs and screenshots are not accepted.
Add tickets to the mobile wallet before arrival, and use the Gate 10 ticket office for gameday help.
- Re-entry
Guests may not exit and re-enter Soldier Field; no re-entry passes are issued.
- Prohibited items
Soldier Field prohibits weapons, alcohol, non-compliant bags, beverage containers, coolers, strollers, umbrellas, drones, fireworks, noisemakers, laser pointers, large camera lenses, and other listed items.
Review the complete official list before leaving home because security may confiscate prohibited items.
- First aid
First-aid stations are inside Gate 17, behind Section 339, and behind Section 304 on the United Club 300 Level, with roving medical teams also available.
For medical help, contact an usher or security official, text 815-880-1920, or call 312-235-7999.
- Nursing and lactation
Nursing space is available in the South Courtyard suite, the First Aid office inside Gate 17, Mamava pods inside Gate 25 and behind Section 230, and a United Club family restroom.
The Mamava pod inside Gate 25 is wheelchair accessible.
- Family restrooms
Family and all-gender restrooms are available throughout the general stadium and United Club, and all Soldier Field restrooms have baby-changing stations.
General locations include Sections 121, 146, 154, 320, 354, 435, 437, and 439.
- Tickets for children
A child shorter than 32 inches may enter without a ticket after receiving a complimentary lap pass at the Gate 8 Ticket Office.
The child must be present when the pass is issued, sit on a ticketed guest's lap, and may not occupy a seat; one lap pass is allowed per game ticket.
- Guest services
Fan Services booths are available across the general stadium and at United Club concierge desks.
For gameday assistance, text the issue and location to 815-880-1920, call 312-235-7999, or contact a security officer, usher, or Fan Services team member.
- Service animals
Task-trained service animals and animals in training may enter at Gate 8; comfort and emotional-support animals are not permitted.
Gate 8 also permits exit and re-entry when a service animal needs the relief area.
- Smoking and vaping
Smoking, vaping, e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco are prohibited throughout Soldier Field, with no designated smoking areas inside or outside.
Re-entry is prohibited, so guests cannot leave to smoke and return.
Game Day Timeline
What the day looks like at Soldier Field, hour by hour.
Parking Lots Open
South Lot and museum campus parking open. Tailgaters start setting up grills and claiming spots along the lakefront.
Tailgate Scene Builds
The South Lot and surrounding areas fill up with grills, music, and bags games. Walk the lakefront and soak in the atmosphere.
Gates Open
Stadium gates open. Head in early to explore the concourses, grab an Italian beef, and watch warmups from the lower bowl.
Player Warmups
Players take the field for warmups. Great photo opportunities from the end zone sections.
Find Your Seats
Get settled with food and drinks. The pregame video and player introductions are worth being in your seat for.
Game Time
Bear Down, Chicago Bears. Join 61,500 fans in one of the NFL's most storied venues with the Chicago skyline as your backdrop.
Exit Strategy
Walk north through Grant Park to reach CTA and Metra stations. Museum campus clears in 30-45 minutes. Many fans head to nearby South Loop bars.
Tips & Fan Reports
Show up with beer and food to any tailgate and people will welcome you. This is Chicago, everyone is friendly. Check out the CHGO tailgate on Cermak or just find any group with a grill going.
Best food is served in the parking lot honestly. The stadium food sucks but the polish sausage from the little stand on the second level is decent. Tailgate or eat right before you go in.
Bring hand warmers and layers for any game after October. Lake Michigan wind cuts right through you.
Dress for lakefront weather. It's always colder and windier at Soldier Field than the city forecast suggests.
Try the Italian beef sandwich dipped. It's the quintessential Chicago game-day food.
Italian beef sandwich dipped is the move. Do not get it dry - you are at a Bears game in Chicago, commit to the experience.
Tailgate in the south lots. The north lots along the museum campus are more scenic but the south side is where the real party is.
The lakefront wind is real. Whatever the forecast says for downtown, subtract 10-15 degrees for Soldier Field. Layer up.
Check whether your lot is a Family Friendly lot before you buy. Alcohol is not permitted in those.
After a night game the lots do not reopen for tailgating, so plan the evening around leaving rather than staying.
Before the Game
Tailgating is permitted in every stadium-controlled lot on Museum Campus, and the venue calls it a long-standing tradition, but Soldier Field's rules are stricter than the reputation suggests. No tents of any kind are permitted, anywhere. Fire pits and open fires are banned in all lots, deep fryers and oil-based cooking with them, and no open flame at all is allowed inside the enclosed North Garage or the lower Waldron Garage. Propane tanks are capped at 19 pounds. Tailgating stops during the game, and after night games it does not resume.
Where to Tailgate
Stadium-controlled lots on Museum Campus
The open-air lots around the stadium on Museum Campus, where tailgating is permitted and where grilling is possible, unlike the enclosed structures. Aisles have to stay clear of equipment so emergency vehicles can pass.
Known for Tailgating permitted · Grilling possible outdoors · Keep the aisle clear
North Garage and lower Waldron Garage
The two enclosed garages on the campus. Tailgating is allowed in both, but no open flame of any kind is. No grilling, no infrared panels, no propane heaters, because a garage is an enclosed lot area. The trade here is shelter over cooking.
Known for Enclosed and sheltered · No open flame at all · No heaters
Family Friendly lots
Designated lots on the same campus where alcohol consumption is not permitted. Worth knowing before you park rather than after.
Known for No alcohol · Family designated
Adler Lot
The lot by the Adler Planetarium end of Museum Campus, which hosts the stadium's private and hospitality tailgate options rather than general open tailgating.
Known for Private tailgate options · Hospitality setups
Pregame Rules
What Soldier Field allows before the game, and what it does not.
- Tailgating at Soldier Field is permitted within all stadium-controlled parking lots on Museum Campus.
- No tents of any kind are permitted.
- Fire pits and open fires are not allowed in any lot.
- No open flame, grilling or otherwise, is permitted in an enclosed lot area: the North Garage and lower Waldron Garage.
- No open flame, infrared panel or propane heaters of any type are allowed in any lot.
- Deep fryers and any oil-based cooking or frying are prohibited.
- Propane tanks larger than 19 pounds are prohibited.
- Consumption of alcohol is not permitted in the Family Friendly lots.
- All tailgating in stadium-controlled parking lots is prohibited during the game, and after night games.
- Weapons, fireworks, drones, tethered blimps, balloons and other oversized inflatables are prohibited, as is overnight parking.
- An aisle clear of tailgate equipment must be maintained to accommodate emergency vehicles.
Weather
Soldier Field is open air, so these are the conditions you sit in.
Across the NFL season the warmest month is September, with an average high of 76°F, and the coldest is January, when the average low is 19°F. October is the wettest month at 3.5 inches and January the driest at 1.5 inches.
That January low ranks 4th coldest of the 32 NFL venues, and October here ranks 19th wettest.
September
2.8 inchesOctober
3.5 inchesNovember
2.4 inchesDecember
1.8 inchesJanuary
1.5 inchesWhat to Bring
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Food for personal consumption may enter when its container complies with the NFL bag policy; beverage containers are prohibited.
- A card or a phone wallet
Concessions, in-seat vending, and retail transactions are cashless and accept credit cards, debit cards, and supported mobile wallets.
- Winter layers, gloves and a hat
January lows average 19°F in the seats at Soldier Field.
- A poncho, not an umbrella
Umbrellas are on Soldier Field's prohibited list, and October averages 3.5 inches of rain.
Tailgate Gear
Lots open before the game, ending once the game begins.
- A grill you can run outdoors: no flame is permitted in the North or lower Waldron garages
- A propane tank of 19 pounds or less, which is the stadium's hard cap
- No tent or canopy: they are banned outright at Soldier Field, unlike most stadiums
- Cooking that is not oil-based: deep fryers and frying are prohibited
- A setup narrow enough to leave the emergency-vehicle aisle clear
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Game day timeline
Gate opening time checked against the venue's own gate-opening policy: Soldier Field gates open two hours before kickoff for Bears games.
- Pregame
Soldier Field official site, Plan Your Visit: Tailgating
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
- Venue policies
Chicago Bears and Soldier Field A-Z, bag-policy, and mobile-ticket pages reviewed for visitor-facing policies.