Tickets to Eagles-Bears NFC playoff game still available, for a price

PHILADELPHIA – It’s hardly a trip to the tropics, but Eagles fans traveling to Chicago for Sunday’s NFC playoff game against the Bears are fortunate, insisted one former Soldier Field visitor.

The stadium’s location at the south end of downtown, about a mile and a half from the Chicago Loop, is ideal because of accessibility to affordable hotels and public transportation, said John Dollmeyer, president of the Blue Hen Touchdown Club, which supports the University of Delaware football team.

“Do not rent a car,” advised Dollmeyer, a Townsend resident who once lived in the Chicago area and often attended Bears games.

Soldier Field is easily reachable via the Chicago Transit Authority’s elevated trains, just a 15-minute walk from the Roosevelt station, and buses. Therefore, fans staying farther away, such as near Midway or O’Hare airports, can get there easily.

Lodging is also a decent bargain in the area. There are numerous hotels within a mile and a half of Soldier Field with rates from $75 to $150 per night for Saturday and Sunday, according to expedia.com.

Some of those nearby hotels and restaurants, Dollmeyer said, also offer shuttle rides.

Sunday’s weather forecast in Chicago calls for temperatures in the low 40s and overcast skies but little chance of rain with, typically, a breeze coming off nearby Lake Michigan.

That’s quite comfortable for January. Among the games Dollmeyer attended at Soldier Field was the NFC championship on Jan. 8, 1989, when the wind chill dipped to minus-26 in the Bears’ 28-3 loss to the 49ers.

Kickoff is at 4:40 p.m., just after sunset. The Eagles-Bears game is being televised by NBC.

It isn’t too late to plan a trip.

The resale ticket outlet StubHub had more than 5,000 tickets available Wednesday morning for prices beginning at $218 for a grandstand seat high up at Soldier Field. Prices, which ranged as high as $1,100-plus for some 50-yard line seats, and availability were similar on GameTime.

Former University of Delaware tight end Greg Penecale, who was a UD teammate of Bears coach Matt Nagy, attended the Vikings-Bears game earlier this season at Soldier Field and stayed at a hotel that was a one-mile walk away. Penecale has preferred another secondary ticket site, SeatGeek, to attend 76ers games and has found its prices are often 10 to 15 percent cheaper, he said.

 A 2003 renovation reduced capacity to 61,500, making Soldier Field one of the NFL’s smaller venues. Penecale was in the process of trying to get tickets Wednesday through Nagy or former teammate Brian Ginn, also on the Bears staff.

“It’s a great facility with a lot of areas where you can get food and a beer,” said Penecale, from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, “and some spots devoted to the history of the Bears. There’s really not a bad seat.”

The Eagles are not selling tickets to the game, as they must be purchased through the Bears’ ticket office. Calls there Wednesday were not answered.

As for getting to Chicago, the drive is more than 750 miles and 11-plus hours from Wilmington to Soldier Field.

Those making last-minute air reservations won’t go inexpensively.

 A few bargain fares in the $450 to $525 range from Philadelphia to Chicago were spotted on various online discount sites through kayak.com, flying out Saturday and returning Monday. Some included out-of-the-way stopover spots, however, such as Las Vegas or various Florida airports.

Fans scouring travel outlets may be able to unearth a better bargain if they have more flexible schedules, but paying in the $600 to $750 range is also possible, especially for a direct flight.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.