Two Bears icons — running back Walter Payton and founder George Halas — are getting statues outside Soldier Field.
The Bears said Wednesday that the statues will be unveiled outside Gate O on Sept. 3. Each will be 12 feet tall and weigh 3,000 pounds. They were made by Fisher Sculpture and will be placed by the stadium architecture company Populous.
Halas and Payton will be the first former Bears commemorated with statues at the stadium, which is owned by the Chicago Park District.
‘‘It is only appropriate that the father of professional football and the greatest player in the history of the game are being honored in this way,’’ Bears chairman George McCaskey said in a statement. ‘‘And perhaps [there’s] no better time for the unveiling than as we kick off our centennial season.’’
On Sept. 3rd, our family alongside the @ChicagoBears will be unveiling a statue of my father and George Halas outside of Gate 0 at Soldier Field. I’ve seen one one of @walterpayton and let me tell you....amazing!!! #Bears pic.twitter.com/73CPGtQQbF
— Jarrett Payton (@paytonsun) August 7, 2019
In 2015, the Bears put a statue of Halas — also designed by Chad Fisher of Fisher Sculpture — outside the entrance of Halas Hall, their training facility in Lake Forest. It is about 3½ feet shorter and half the weight of the Soldier Field statue.
‘‘What a proud moment for all of us and the city of Chicago,’’ Payton’s widow, Connie, said in a statement. ‘‘We’re not just Chicago Bears fans; we’re family.’’
