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Bears Skyline Suite a big hit with avid fans
Avid Bears fan Jim Johnston of Glenview was smitten even before the new Skyline Suite at Soldier Field was completed and he's even more impressed after watching a few games from such a luxurious setting.
Introduced this season, the Skyline Suite is a premium seating option that gives Bears fans a unique, all-inclusive game day experience. The Skyline Suite can accommodate 151 fans and is located in a previously undeveloped area below the executive suites and the press box.
"I was looking for something that was a step above the rest of the seats," Johnston said. "When they brought me up there and it was still under construction, all I could think was, 'Wow, this is going to be incredible."
"I'm a longtime Bears fan and there's no greater way to watch the games than to sit up there in great comfort with great food and incredibly nice people. It's more comfortable than my house. The view is spectacular and there's just nothing better."
Joining the Cadillac Club and the Executive Suite as a third premium seating option, the Skyline Suite features individual indoor reserved seating in a spacious climate-controlled suite with operable windows for open air.
The Skyline Suite ticket includes on-site parking, open premium bar, an upscale buffet, carving stations, traditional football fare, dessert cart and coffee/hot chocolate station. Bears fans have in-seat beverage service in their cushioned, extra-wide 22-inch seats with drink holders.
Skyline Suite guests enjoy private restrooms, coat check, concierge desk for game day assistance and 46 Plasma and LCD flat-screen TVs showing all NFL games.
There have also been merchandise giveaways and appearances by 1985 Bears players Otis Wilson, Kevin Butler and Dennis McKinnon.
Johnston has attended games in skyboxes in Atlanta, St. Louis and New Orleans and says that the atmosphere in the Skyline Suite is unlike any other.
"It's an incredible experience," said Johnston, who bought season tickets and attends games with his wife. "I've seen a lot of different skyboxes and nothing compares to the Skyline Suite."
The multi-million dollar construction project was paid for exclusively by the Bears and provides more non-game day revenue generating opportunities for the Chicago Park District.
Avid fan Stefanie Stricker of Oak Lawn sat in the Skyline Suite for the first time with her husband, father and brother last weekend when the Bears hosted the Bengals.
"We were so impressed," she said. "It's awesome up there. You get to experience football like most people don't. You can actually see the plays develop from up there, which is really incredible. Especially if you've never been to a game before or if somebody's new to football, it's a great way to watch it.
"It's a unique way to experience a football game and it's also a great way to see the historic aspects of Soldier Field and how they've melded with the new and the modern."
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