Today’s column from CBS Chicago …
(CBS) With the Chicago Bears entering the final year of their contract with Olivet Nazarene University, the summer of 2013 could be the last that the team spends in Bourbonnais for its annual training camp.
But it won’t be if tourism officials in Kankakee County have any say about it. And they likely do.
On Wednesday, speaking for the area’s collective desire to keep the Bears around, the Kankakee County Convention & Visitors Bureau board made its voice as loud and clear as a fan at Soldier Field. According to the Daily Journal in Kankakee, the board voted unanimously to approve a $500,000 commitment to fund upgrades to the team’s summer training complex.
“This is great news for the community,” ONU director of university relations Gary Griffin told the Daily Journal in Kankakee on Wednesday. “This is the first step toward saving the Chicago Bears’ training camp.”
While the small print regarding the timeline of the payment still needs to be hammered out, the Daily Journal reports that the hope among local officials is that the funding will help keep the Bears at ONU for at least eight more years.
Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …