Chicago Bears (Football team)

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois; The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division; The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, on September 17, 1920, and moved to Chicago in 1921; The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season; they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side, next to Lake Michigan. The Bears have a long-standing rivalry with the Green Bay Packers; The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. The Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. Since 2002, the Bears have held their annual training camp, from late July to mid-August, at Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois; Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur, Illinois as a company team; The team relocated to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys. Under an agreement reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, Halas purchased the rights to the club from Staley for US$100; In 1922, Halas changed the team name from the Staleys to the Bears;