Bears to open season playing Packers on Sept. 5

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Bears will kick off their 100th season this fall with a Thursday night game against the Green Bay Packers, the team announced Monday.

The game will be at 7:20 p.m. Sept. 5 at Soldier Field.

The Bears centennial celebration will start June 7-9 at the Rosemont Convention Center.

The game will mark the first time in franchise history in which the Bears have opened the NFL season on Thursday Night Football, according to a press release. The last time the Bears and the Packers met at night at Soldier Field was 2010 on Monday Night Football, a 20-17 Bears victory in Week 3.

The Bears-Packers rivalry is the oldest in the NFL, dating to 1921. The two teams will be meeting for the 199th time on Sept. 5 with Green Bay owning a slight edge in the all-time series, 97-95-6.