New Orleans Saints to Hold Training Camp in Irvine, California
Team will utilize Crawford Field on the University of California, Irvine campus
Posted On: March 29, 2024 By :The New Orleans Saints have announced that the team’s 2024 training camp will take place in Irvine, California, as the team’s Ochsner Sports Performance Center is undergoing a one-year construction project.
The team will train at the University of California, Irvine. Crawford Field at UCI’s athletics complex is a 12-acre space large enough to accommodate five regulation football fields; the Los Angeles Rams have used the site for its training camp base before from 2016–2019 and 2021–2023.
“We are thankful to be able to come to an agreement with the University of California, Irvine to host training camp, providing us with exceptional fields and facilities that are critical to our football team receiving the necessary work in preparation for the 2024 season,” New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis said.
For the Saints, this will be the 12th site that they have utilized for training camp. The team has participated in training camp practices in California in the past on several occasions. From 1967–1969, the team held training camp at Cal Western University in San Diego. In 2011, the team spent a week of training camp in Oxnard, California. From 2017–2019 and 2022–2023, the team conducted joint practices with the Los Angeles Chargers in Costa Mesa, California.
The move is necessitated by the team’s ongoing work to build a new team cafeteria at its training base, temporarily reducing the space available for coaches, players and staff.
“Currently, Mrs. Benson and our organization have invested in the construction of a new cafeteria, that when completed will be among the finest in the National Football League,” said Loomis. “The scope of this project makes it difficult to host training camp on-site in 2024, given the extensive needs for our team to prepare for the regular season.”
While NFL training camps traditionally were held away from team headquarters, in recent years that has turned into staying at home facilities year-round. Outside of the California-based teams in the NFL, the only other team that last year was in California for training camp was the Dallas Cowboys at its traditional spot in Oxnard, California.
There are some teams that do hold training camps away from team headquarters still. Last year’s teams to do so included the Buffalo Bills (Rochester, New York), Carolina Panthers (Spartanburg, South Carolina), Indianapolis Colts (Oxnard, California), Kansas City Chiefs (St. Joseph, Missouri) and Pittsburgh Steelers (Latrobe, Pennsylvania).
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