Linehan wants to move training camp
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Mar. 23 2008
After spending the past three summers in St. Louis, the Rams plan to hit the
road once again for training camp. Coach
Scott Linehan wants the team to hold
its 2008 training camp at an out-of-town locale still to be determined.
"We want to go 'off-site,' where we can work as a team and hopefully work with
another team for a few days prior to the opening of the preseason," Linehan
said. "We'd like to break our training camp in the traditional way, around the
second preseason game. In a perfect world, you should be able to play your
first home game when you break camp."
Under such a schedule, the Rams would be away for about three weeks. The team
has held training camp at Rams Park for the past three summers. Prior to that,
the team trained at Western Illinois University in Macomb for nine seasons. In
1995, the Rams' first season in St. Louis, the team trained at Parkway Central
High for a week, and then at Maryville University.
The Rams were looking seriously at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a
training camp site for this summer. But that's no longer an option.
"La Crosse was the best location because they're really close (to the Kansas
City Chiefs)," Linehan said. "But they're redoing all their fields and their
stadium."
Kansas City still trains in nearby River Falls, Wis., and had the Rams been
able to train in La Crosse, Linehan would've tried to set up joint practices
and/or a scrimmage with the Chiefs.
"We're looking at traditional (college) sites," Linehan said. "We're looking at
anybody that has a facility that suits our needs."
Linehan said one possibility could be the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater,
the alma mater of Rams wide receiver Derek Stanley. Whitewater is a town of
13,000 in southeastern Wisconsin. Milwaukee and Madison are about 50 miles
away; Chicago is 80 miles away.
Another possibility could be the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where
the Jacksonville Jaguars trained in 1995. Stevens Point (pop. 25,000) is in the
central part of the state, 110 miles north of Madison and 250 miles northwest
of Chicago.
"Macomb's not out of the mix," Linehan said. "But the reason we want to do it
up there (in Wisconsin) is because of the availability of the other teams."
Besides the Chiefs in River Falls, the Packers train in Green Bay, and the
Minnesota Vikings aren't too far away in Mankato, Minn.
Linehan said the possibility of training at Missouri State in Springfield also
has been discussed. "They have a FieldTurf stadium," Linehan said. "But I don't
know if there's an option to (work with) another team. We're not really close
to anyone there."
Having been part of NFL teams that have held camps at their year-round facility
and at college campuses, Linehan said he likes the idea of getting away.
"Have a change … the anticipation of camp," Linehan said. "Going away and
having to take away the comfort of home."
Linehan said training at Rams Park during his first two seasons with the Rams
was convenient, and camp was run very smoothly.
"But there's something about working together in one area, kind of secluded,"
Linehan said. "And then there's a greater anticipation of breaking camp and
starting the season when you come back. I think the city can even embrace that
move, when you come back. You look at baseball, with the anticipation of the
Cardinals coming back from Florida — it's a big story."
Of course, one of the negatives of training elsewhere is that it makes it more
difficult for fans to watch the team during training camp. But the setup wasn't
ideal for fans to watch the team at Rams Park. And truth be told, attendance
was underwhelming for the most part.
"I think it's almost a big deal to go somewhere and watch training camp,"
Linehan said. "It's kind of old hat here. It's pretty convenient. It's like
anything else, I don't know if there's as much of a novelty to it, I guess."
jthomas@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8197
"I'm a beast and you don't tame a beast, you hit it with a stick and then let it go out into the wild"
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