America’s Team Goes Camping: How the Dallas Cowboys Put Oxnard, California, ‘On the Map’

Each summer for nearly two decades, the most popular team in America’s most popular sport has packed up its operations and traveled nearly 1,500 miles away to start its quest for a championship.

In that time, the Dallas Cowboys have not won the Super Bowl. But they have managed to make the seaside city of Oxnard, California, synonymous with America’s Team.

“When people ask me where I’m from and I say Oxnard, the first thing that I hear back is ‘Dallas Cowboys training camp,’” said Brittney Hendricks, president and CEO of Visit Oxnard. “As a city and as a visitors bureau, it’s incredibly important for us to drive awareness, not only for Oxnard as a tourism destination, but just so people know that we exist — where we’re located geographically. The Dallas Cowboys definitely help to put us on the map.”

Oxnard, a city of roughly 200,000 people, is located about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Its city-owned River Ridge Playing Fields were originally built in the 1980s for the Las Vegas (then Los Angeles) Raiders and have also been used by the Los Angeles Rams during their 2016 relocation from St. Louis. The Cowboys’ stamp on the region dates to their first camp in Oxnard in 2001.

In the ensuing years, most NFL teams have built palatial training facilities in their home cities that are usually adjacent to their home stadiums, and opt to hold training camp there. The Cowboys have done that too, opening a $1.5-billion complex called The Star in Frisco, Texas, in 2016. But they still trek to Oxnard each summer. This year they were one of just six NFL teams to hold camp outside their typical headquarters.

Oxnard has hosted the Cowboys’ training camp each year since 2012, apart from 2020 camp that stayed at their headquarters in Frisco, Texas, during the height of the COVID–19 pandemic.

In that time, millions of Ventura County locals and out-of-state visitors have flocked to River Ridge to catch a glimpse of the team’s stars, which this year includes quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and, of course, the beloved Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Thanks to a five–year extension approved by the Oxnard City Council in 2025, it’ll stay that way through at least 2029. At the start of camp this year, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was given a medallion by the city and in turn presented the city a $25,000 donation as a gesture of thanks for hosting the team.

Engaging with the Community

For the past five years, the city has kicked off training camp with its annual Oxnard Fan Night event, which is free for attendees. The city welcomes locals and visitors to The Collection at RiverPark, an outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment center, to enjoy Cowboys–themed activities and see a performance from the team’s famous cheerleaders.

“The Collection was absolutely packed with Cowboys fans the night we held that event,” Hendricks said of this year’s turnout. “All of the tenants were raving with how busy their restaurants and businesses were. They outperformed their projected numbers for that night.”

Convention and visitors bureaus, local businesses, restaurants and even healthcare providers in Oxnard and its surrounding cities see training camp as a recurring opportunity to bring in Cowboys fans each summer.

The area’s chamber of commerce, the West Ventura County Business Alliance, produces the only training camp program that every Cowboys fan receives as they enter the River Ridge gates.

The WVCBA handles all training camp advertising, so its president and CEO, Andy Conli, has an up-close view of how the area values the annual tourism boom that comes with Cowboys training camp. Conli said many restaurants roll out specials just for Cowboys’ camp, and because the Ventura County Fair is held at the same time, many fans take advantage of both events. Musical artists, including Marshmello, Bush, Jake Owen and Ashanti, performed at the fair this year.

“Training camp is such a draw for everyone to come into town, but it really is just a couple hours a day,” Conli said. “So once that’s done, people have an opportunity to go explore — the beaches, the shops, the restaurants.”

Hosting America’s Team

Cowboys players, coaches, cheerleaders and staff members get their own taste of Oxnard during their time at training camp.

Hendricks said the Cowboys are fans of The Blend Superfood Bar, a wellness café that specializes in acai bowls, smoothies and juices. She has seen dozens of acai bowls stacked for players’ breakfasts.

Flora Loca, a new rooftop cantina atop the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Ventura Oxnard, hosted the cheerleaders for lunch before Oxnard Fan Fest this year.

 

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For nearly a full month, the Cowboys set up home base at the Staybridge Suites Oxnard — River Ridge, a hotel directly beside the River Ridge Playing Fields and one of nine hotels in Oxnard.

Conli said locals always know when training camp is underway because Ventura County becomes noticeably busy. Plus, with a full roster of NFL players living in the area for the summer, it’s not uncommon for residents to spot players going out to dinner or checking out the region.

“Even when I go out to take my family, it’s packed, but you see these big, athletic guys with Cowboys shirts walking around, and you’re like, ‘Oh, they’re on the team,’” he said. “It’s not Dak Prescott or CeeDee Lamb, but it’s definitely someone on the team or someone trying to make the roster. That’s just fun. When else do you have something like that?”

Looking to the Future

River Ridge Playing Fields are well positioned for football training camps, and they’ve drawn more programs beyond Cowboys. For Hendricks, that’s an encouraging trend.

The Georgia Southern football team practiced in Oxnard before their 2025 opener on the road at Fresno State. The NWSL’s Kansas City Current held their 2026 training camp at River Ridge in January and February.

“We’ve had a lot of interest from MLS teams, from international soccer teams, so we’ll see what the future holds,” Hendricks said. “We’re really growing as a sports destination.”

The city has benefited from television exposure, too. Three separate seasons of HBO’s Hard Knocks have featured the Cowboys in Oxnard, most recently in 2021. And Netflix highlighted Oxnard in season three, episode six of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. The show featured scenes from the 2025 Oxnard Fan Night, capturing the cheerleaders in town and promoting the city to the show’s audience of millions.

“Oxnard gets quite a spotlight for about five minutes in that episode,” Hendricks said. “To get that much coverage in a show that is performing that well definitely raises our destination profile. You’ve got the cheerleaders wearing some of our swag, and there are shots of some of our swag.”

The city hasn’t conducted an analysis on the economic impact of training camp since 2019. However, those seven–year–old numbers estimated that training camp generated $3.6 million in direct spending for the region.

That may be miniscule compared to the $1.3 billion in revenue the team generates each year, according to Sportico, or its $15.5 billion valuation. But it is the kind of boost other small towns across America that once hosted other NFL training camps — such as Bourbonnais, Illinois, with the Chicago Bears, or Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the Philadelphia Eagles —  can no longer count on, and the town benefits in ways that go beyond the bottom line.

“There is definitely a swell of community pride during Cowboys’ camp,” Hendricks said. “I think the residents of Oxnard get really excited that a global brand has chosen their city for their annual training camp. And the fact that the Cowboys have treated Oxnard as their summertime home-away–from-home, it really raises the destination profile and brings awareness to our community for consideration to vacation like the Dallas Cowboys do.”