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Bears leaving Olivet Nazarene

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ramblinman_rivals165935

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What the article doesn't say is where the players will be sleeping. Sure, many of the veteran players already have homes in the Chicago area, but not the bubble players. Plus, I think that the team would still want that training camp dynamic with everyone eating together and recreating/socializing in the evenings.

I'm wondering if the Bears have made a deal with neighboring LFA to use their dorms and dining hall.

Quags? Have you heard anything?
 
J

johnndoe

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Oct 19, 2019
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I always thought an NFL training camp on the grounds of a small, conservative, fundamentalist Christian university campus was an odd combination. Despite the tight rein during pre-season, I wonder what stories campus security or local police might have regarding players, coaches and fans. Any "inconveniences" were probably outweighed by the facility improvements created at ONU.
 
R

ramblinman_rivals165935

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PowerI66 said:
I would assume they have a plan for this already.
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I would assume so as well. Short of putting players up in a hotel, LFA makes the most sense because it is literally right next door to Halas Hall. LFC also would be a possibility I suppose.

Interesting that no mention has been made of accommodations for camp participants.
 
P

PanthersWildcats86

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The Bears Training Camp was a boon to Olivet. I have to assume that at some higher up political level Governor Ryan connected parts of Soldier Field rehab with the Bears going to Bourbonnais to help Kankakee County, and they definitely have helped the community. But the end was in sight; when they started doing mostly morning practices, it was clear they were trying to cut back on public access. Going to Halas Hall will not likely make anything any better for the fans.

Olivet used the revenue for significant investment into the student & athletic facilities. The beautiful Student Life and Recreation Center would not likely have happened without the Bears - or would have taken a much longer time to do. The pool which was built as part of that project has allowed the Tigers to start a swimming team which quickly jumped to NAIA championship caliber...NAIA Mens champs in '16 & '17, runners up '14 & '15, third '13 & '18.. NAIA Womens champs in '17, runners up '18 & '16, sixth in '15, third in '14, fourth in '13.

You would think that Football would be the major benefactor, and a huge recruiting advantage. But? The Tigers best record in recent years were a couple of 6-5 seasons...Turf in 2014 was probably the biggest direct benefit to Tiger football from the Bears...

Community benefit? Sure, lots of priceless good press for the area because of the Bears, and heavy Chicago press the month or so of camp. But the financial boom did not end up what people first thought...Unlike Platteville, where Bears tourism created lots of hotel stays and multi-day trips, its only 60 miles from Olivet to Soldier Field. Other than for some press members, there was no huge jump in hotel reservations for camp - because it was close enough to be a day trip. Sure, there were some gas stations & restaurants that benefitted, but not what people were thinking when the move was announced. Lots of high school girls were surprised when they discovered they were in line at Dairy Queen across from Olivet with a Bear. TJ's & the Library, the bars across the street from Olivet, were clearly helped with patrons hoping for a Bear sighting, but the newness had rubbed off. People started avoiding the traffic problems in the area, and I've already heard comments about how it will be nice not to have Bears traffic returning in July.
 
A

anon_4vszfu35bv677

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Well that makes visits to training camp less convenient
 
I

ignazio

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They never should have left St. Joe's in Rensselaer.
 
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MC63

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ignazio said:
They never should have left St. Joe's in Rensselaer.
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In the late 1960s, Johnny Cash sand "San Quentin, I Hate Every Inch of You" during a concert at the prison. A recording of the song became a mild hit. During the next summer camp, one of the Bears adapted the lyrics to "Rensselaer, I Hate Every Inch of You." I don't remember which Bear did it, but the team was somewhat embarrassed when the performance was noted in the newspapers.
 
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ignazio

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ramblinman said:
Who are the two bookends and number 62?
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I think it's from 1966, making that Dick Evey, Dick Gordon, George Halas, Dick Butkus, Mike Reilly and Jim Jones.
They finished 5-7-2 with 3 Hall of Famers on the roster.
 
W

Wilmatucky

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Nov 1, 2017
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I don't follow the NFL at all, and I really don't understand going to a bar or restaurant in hope of running into a celebrity or athlete (unless you are an attractive female looking for a date with a rich guy). That being said, I'm glad they are leaving. As stated before, I don't think as much extra revenue came into as originally planned. I do a lot of my shopping in the Bradley area and the less traffic the better. I go to Bradley because Joliet became too busy. I'd like it to stay that way.
 
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B

boonman1

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Sep 8, 2007
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They are planning at some time building there own Hotel like building for this purpose. FYI
 
F

FCHS2019

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I worked the players gate the last few summers and had a fun time with it even though I am not a Bears fan... with the team meetings under Nagy going until 8:30-9:00 each night and curfew being 11:00, the players had very little time to hit the bars..

And from what I was told by ONU people, the financial benefit for the school was minimal, was all about name recognition as they grew their brand..
 
L

LTHSALUM76

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Wilmatucky said:
I don't follow the NFL at all, and I really don't understand going to a bar or restaurant in hope of running into a celebrity or athlete (unless you are an attractive female looking for a date with a rich guy). That being said, I'm glad they are leaving. As stated before, I don't think as much extra revenue came into as originally planned. I do a lot of my shopping in the Bradley area and the less traffic the better. I go to Bradley because Joliet became too busy. I'd like it to stay that way.
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I think some of the business owners in Bourbonnais would disagree with you on the revenue. An article I read in the Tribune said it brought in over 1M in 2018 and the revenue increased in 2019. I think it said somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5M in 2019. I didn't keep the paper to reference it here.

I can understand your not wanting to go to Joliet, especially from your location. Rt 53 and Laraway Road is a damned zoo with all the semi traffic. I went through there going north on 53 back in October on a Monday afternoon. As I got to the light at Laraway Road looking north, I saw a line of semis heading south and lined up as far as I could see. What a mess...that is going to get worse by the way. I turned right, going east, on Laraway and vowed to never go there again.
 
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Wilmatucky

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LTHSALUM76 said:
I think some of the business owners in Bourbonnais would disagree with you on the revenue. An article I read in the Tribune said it brought in over 1M in 2018 and the revenue increased in 2019. I think it said somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5M in 2019. I didn't keep the paper to reference it here.

I can understand your not wanting to go to Joliet, especially from your location. Rt 53 and Laraway Road is a damned zoo with all the semi traffic. I went through there going north on 53 back in October on a Monday afternoon. As I got to the light at Laraway Road looking north, I saw a line of semis heading south and lined up as far as I could see. What a mess...that is going to get worse by the way. I turned right, going east, on Laraway and vowed to never go there again.
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They have traffic flaggers waving the cars in to Amazon at the beginning of a shift. I was up that way at 6AM and it was chaos.
 
P

PanthersWildcats86

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LTHSALUM76 said:
I think some of the business owners in Bourbonnais would disagree with you on the revenue. An article I read in the Tribune said it brought in over 1M in 2018 and the revenue increased in 2019. I think it said somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5M in 2019. I didn't keep the paper to reference it here.
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When the Bears announced they were coming, people initially thought Bears fans would be taking vacations to Kankakee County for camp...three days to a week, hotels raking in cash, the State Park Campground being jammed full. It did not end up that way.

They probably got more total people, but mostly on day trips. It's only an hour from the loop to Olivet. The hotels, as a result, never got the great windfall they thought might come. Gas stations usually had people filling up before going home on cheaper/lower taxed gas and getting a fresh beverage/snack, so they saw a jump in business. Restaurants were getting lunch or dinner before or after practice, but the one meal was generally it - because fans were not generally staying overnight causing a couple lunches and dinners.

And yes, there were "groupies" looking to hang out in the bars trying to see players. But there were also bars which were willing to cater to the Bears and let them, say, use the "party room" without fans. I really think it would have been a wildly different situation if, say, the '80s Bears were in Bourbonnais...I could picture the punky QB shotgunning brews with McMichael and Hampton up and down Broadway in Bradley...
 
L

LTHSALUM76

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PanthersWildcats86 said:
When the Bears announced they were coming, people initially thought Bears fans would be taking vacations to Kankakee County for camp...three days to a week, hotels raking in cash, the State Park Campground being jammed full. It did not end up that way.

They probably got more total people, but mostly on day trips. It's only an hour from the loop to Olivet. The hotels, as a result, never got the great windfall they thought might come. Gas stations usually had people filling up before going home on cheaper/lower taxed gas and getting a fresh beverage/snack, so they saw a jump in business. Restaurants were getting lunch or dinner before or after practice, but the one meal was generally it - because fans were not generally staying overnight causing a couple lunches and dinners.

And yes, there were "groupies" looking to hang out in the bars trying to see players. But there were also bars which were willing to cater to the Bears and let them, say, use the "party room" without fans. I really think it would have been a wildly different situation if, say, the '80s Bears were in Bourbonnais...I could picture the punky QB shotgunning brews with McMichael and Hampton up and down Broadway in Bradley...
Click to expand...
I know exactly how far it is from Chicago to Bourbonnais. I live in Will County. Still, the increased revenue was the increased revenue. No one can dispute that.
 
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SiuCubFan8

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LTHSALUM76 said:
I know exactly how far it is from Chicago to Bourbonnais. I live in Will County. Still, the increased revenue was the increased revenue. No one can dispute that.
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There is no disputing they got more $ from the Bears having camp there, it’s not even an argument.
 
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