Schwartz's "old school" inclination: Move training camp
A follow-up to last week's story about the Lions contemplating moving their training camp away from Allen Park beginning next summer: Jim Schwartz was asked again Tuesday about his desire to get the players out of Allen Park for at least part of a training camp.
"You know, we have one of the best facilities in the NFL," he said after Day 1 of the Lions' final three-day minicamp this offseason. "I mean, this is a great place for the players to prepare, a great place to practice, everything else. I'm probably a little bit old-school, where sometimes you don't need to be comfortable. Sometimes it helps to get away from your comfort level.
"Probably the biggest issue here - and this is a great place to have camp, we've got plenty of room for practice, we've got a great facility, a great cafeteria here - but it does limit access for the fans. And that's one thing, we're always looking for ways to try to provide more chances for fans to connect with the team to be here. That's probably the only thing. There's nothing imminent with it. I'm probably a little bit more old school when it comes to camps away but we're certainly comfortable here."
Maybe so, but there's certainly a good chance they'll be "uncomfortable" somewhere else next summer. In fact, it seems more a question of where, not if or when. Finding a venue with the right facilities is the first task, then finding the right financial arrangement is the next hurdle.
But for now, Allen Park is where they'll stay, with training camp sessions open to the public just like they were last summer. This week, the team also will host "several hundred" former season-ticket holders to a minicamp session -- about 6,000 were invited as the team tries to recconect with its fans, president Tom Lewand said.
