Lightfoot says odds of having fans at Soldier Field this season is less than 50 percent

CHICAGO - Ahead of the Chicago Bears first home game Sunday, the city still hasn’t said whether or not fans will ever be allowed at Soldier Field this season.  

The mayor was asked about the possibility on Friday. 

"Every sports team that wants to have fans in the stands needs to be a partner and work with us, not just say it in a meeting, but work with us,” said Lightfoot.

Chairman George McCaskey said the team had presented the city with a plan, and he was "optimistic" the city would allow Soldier Field to open up to fans later this season.

But on Friday, Mayor Lightfoot said the odds are less than 50 percent.

"You're taking about something like Soldier Field, realistically that's hundreds of people that have to be there just to support the game itself,” said Lightfoot.

The Bears released a statement saying they've had weekly communication with the mayor's office.

The team said, "all parties agreed the timing to welcome fans was not right given the current health metric."

Adding that they'll continue to assess the plan and determine the right time to bring fans back.

Bears head coach Matt Nagy talked about the importance of creating energy on the sidelines this Sunday. 

"You don't have that quote unquote home field advantage just because it's just different, it's quiet. But that's why we got to create that."  

The bears are one of 26 teams in the NFL not allowing fans at home games.