Bears draw more than 15,000 fans for ‘Family Fest’

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

More than 15,000 fans — 15,106, to be exact — braved an early morning drizzle and the threat of a Lollapalooza traffic snarl on the drive home to attend “Family Fest” at Soldier Field on Sunday.

The Bears’ practice began at 10:30 a.m., or one hour and 15 minutes before the first band took the stage of the last day of the festival at Grant Park. Fans filled the lower section surrounding the football field and about half of the upper sections in the end zone of Soldier Field. The announced crowd was almost double the 8,316 tickets distributed for last year’s event — though the 2022 practice was on a Tuesday morning.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said his players enjoyed a different atmosphere after practicing nine times at Halas Hall during training camp. There was a bonus to practicing inside their home stadium, too: having a chance to play the wind for the first time this year.

“The kicking game, we got to see the punters punt and the returners return,” he said. “That was really good to get all those guys out there catching the punt in the stadium.”

The Bears will return six days later to play the Titans in the preseason opener.

Receiver DJ Moore was asked if he planned on catching the concert afterward. First, he had to be told what Lollapalooza was.

“I don’t do concerts,” he said with a smile. “If you see me out, I’m probably eating and then I’m back in the house.”