← Stadiums
Soldier Field
Chicago, IL
Home of
Chicago Bears
Playing conditions
Roof
Open airFully exposed to wind, cold, and rain.
Surface
GrassNatural grass.
Elevation
578 ftLow elevation, with no meaningful altitude effect.
The venue
Capacity62,500
Opened1924
Time zoneCentral
FormerlyMunicipal Grant Park Stadium
How this venue plays
This is an open-air venue, so the game is exposed to its environment and the forecast is part of the projection. Wind is the largest single effect, pulling down the passing and kicking games; cold suppresses offense more gradually; and rain shows up mostly in ball security and play calling.
Sitting this far north, the venue also swings hard by month. An early-season game here is a different environment from a December one, and the model reads the forecast for the specific date rather than applying a season-long average.
The measured effect of these conditions on a specific game appears alongside that game once the season is live.