Soldier Field, NFL stadium in South Side, Chicago, US
Soldier Field is a stadium on the south side of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore with a modern glass and steel interior bowl surrounded by historic limestone columns and colonnades dating to 1924. The outer structures follow a neoclassical style with wide staircases and open arcades while the interior shows an asymmetric bowl with seating tiers on multiple levels and rows wrapping around the playing field.
The grounds were originally opened in 1924 as Grant Park Stadium and renamed one year later to honor soldiers who died in World War I. A comprehensive renovation between 2001 and 2003 replaced the original seating bowl with a modern structure inside the preserved outer colonnade.
The arena serves as home field for the Chicago Bears and on game days between September and January you will see fans in team colors gathering for tailgating parties in surrounding lots. Outside football season the grounds transform into a venue for international soccer matches and large concerts that draw crowds from across the city and lakefront neighborhoods.
The facility is accessible through multiple entrances around the colonnade and offers ramps and elevators for visitors with limited mobility on all levels. Events take place mainly from late summer through winter and views of the playing field are good from nearly every seat though upper tiers sit higher and steeper.
The 2003 renovation added a large open-top steel frame that rises above the modern seating bowl and looks from a distance like a flying saucer hovering over the old columns. This design sparked controversy and led to the loss of National Historic Landmark status but it also allows natural light and lake air from Michigan to reach the spectator rows directly.
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