Cardinals moving camp to Glendale - I like that, how about you? (Phoenix: hotel, living)

[azriverfan.]

I like it. I always found it annoying that they trained in Flagstaff. It just seemed like a PR move like the Dbacks being in Tucson for Spring Training. After a while, they came to their senses and move their camps where they should be.

[buckeyenative01]

Glendale's apparently too busy violating open meeting laws to concern themselves with building the Cardinals a parking garage.

And those old buildings have, to my knowledge, been renovated significantly in the past few years (the Skydome, in particular...it's not a great facility, but the upgrades make it better than what it was before). I don't want to delve too much into a battle of he said/she said, but when I was doing work for my masters degree, I spent a significant portion of time on South Campus during the summer and the Cards (as well as the media) had carte blanche to the entire area once training camp started. I couldn't even get into my building (SBS) because the lower floors were being used by the coaches...

[Juram]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

It's indoors.

Well that's really sucky. Who does that? :P Sorry, just a snobby purist who grew up heading to outdoor training camp year in and year out when I lived in California.

[Valley Native]

Personally, I don't like it. I'm what's affectionately known as a "sunbird" ... which, unlike a snowbird who escapes the snow & cold weather for a warmer winter location, I escape Phoenix's heat & intense sun for cooler locations during the summer months. The Flagstaff area is one of my retreats, usually around the end of July or early August. One of my favorite activities while in Flagstaff is to watch the Cardinals practice games outside at NAU. Temps are usually in the 70s and sometimes there's a hint of rain or thunderstorms in the air. The weather couldn't be more perfect!

The way I see it, Flagstaff is losing a HUGE asset to their summer economy, and this will have a devastating effect on their city coffers in a negative way. Other than being the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon" and the summer home to the Cardinals, what else does Flagstaff really have to offer as far as activities? Flagstaff is a small city with very little as far as industry or entertainment ... and it's heavily reliant on the Cards, which is now taken away from them. Not a very wise move in my opinion.

[magnum0417]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Personally, I don't like it. I'm what's affectionately known as a "sunbird" ... which, unlike a snowbird who escapes the snow & cold weather for a warmer winter location, I escape Phoenix's heat & intense sun for cooler locations during the summer months. The Flagstaff area is one of my retreats, usually around the end of July or early August. One of my favorite activities while in Flagstaff is to watch the Cardinals practice games outside at NAU. Temps are usually in the 70s and sometimes there's a hint of rain or thunderstorms in the air. The weather couldn't be more perfect!

The way I see it, Flagstaff is losing a HUGE asset to their summer economy, and this will have a devastating effect on their city coffers in a negative way. Other than being the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon" and the summer home to the Cardinals, what else does Flagstaff really have to offer as far as activities? Flagstaff is a small city with very little as far as industry or entertainment ... and it's heavily reliant on the Cards, which is now taken away from them. Not a very wise move in my opinion.

As I stated, I feel the same way for the same reasons. A convenient reason to take a break from the heat for a day at 7000 feet elevation. The history in Flagstaff goes way back. My first time here , I spent a week in Scottsdale in August of 1991. Sure enough, the Cards had camp at NAU even back then just after arriving from St Louis. Although the Jets stink, it was well known back in 2009 that Rex Ryan's decision to move training camp 3 hours from NYC to Cortland,NY gave the players a needed break from "same old routine" and the "bond and comradery" resulted in a couple good seasons by the Jets standards. Again, there is a reason why so many teams hold training camps a few hours away.

As it is, this team is NOT regionalized at all. All Cowboys and Broncos fans in NM. Mostly Broncos in Utah. Nevada and So Cal don't root either for the Cardinals. It is important that we try to make the most of smaller markets within the state IMO. There is money in Flagstaff since the city as we all know has no middle class to speak of.

[AlohaAZ]

Originally Posted by magnum0417

Again, there is a reason why so many teams hold training camps a few hours away.

Actually, it's just the opposite. More teams are moving closer to home. There are only a handful of teams that train more than an hour away from home. In fact, the Eagles just announced that they are abandoning Lehigh University this season to have training camp in Philly. I've been a diehard fan for years and I might actually get to see camp this year. I was hardly ever able to make it to Flagstaff, so it's not a big loss for me.

[Finger Laker]

Idiotic, IMO.

They had one of the best training sites in the league and one that is one of the most heavily attended (despite the team being for the most part uncompetative)

Instead they are going to a facility that isn't meant for training .... but they worked themselves into a stupid corner

If they wanted to build a full inside/outside practice facility in Tempe (i only say tempe because that is where their current facilities are) and have is setup camp then that would be one thing

Using the main stadium in Glendale is a bit of a joke

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by magnum0417

As I stated, I feel the same way for the same reasons. A convenient reason to take a break from the heat for a day at 7000 feet elevation. The history in Flagstaff goes way back. My first time here , I spent a week in Scottsdale in August of 1991. Sure enough, the Cards had camp at NAU even back then just after arriving from St Louis. Although the Jets stink, it was well known back in 2009 that Rex Ryan's decision to move training camp 3 hours from NYC to Cortland,NY gave the players a needed break from "same old routine" and the "bond and comradery" resulted in a couple good seasons by the Jets standards. Again, there is a reason why so many teams hold training camps a few hours away.

As it is, this team is NOT regionalized at all. All Cowboys and Broncos fans in NM. Mostly Broncos in Utah. Nevada and So Cal don't root either for the Cardinals. It is important that we try to make the most of smaller markets within the state IMO. There is money in Flagstaff since the city as we all know has no middle class to speak of.

I think winning would matter more than where training camp is held. And as long as they are coming home, they should change the name back to "Phoenix Cardinals". The city needs more identity. Neither the Broncos nor the Cowboys in your example are hurt by having the city where they play (sort of) in the name instead of the state.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Juram

Well that's really sucky. Who does that? :P Sorry, just a snobby purist who grew up heading to outdoor training camp year in and year out when I lived in California.

A few weeks ago when they were talking about this there was a proposal to use the Glendale Youth Sports Complex which is next to the stadium. There were going to put up an inflated tent dome on the fields. I don't know if that is still in the works. I think not as the announcement said all practice would be a UOP. There was a brief overlap conflict with the kids teams that was the issue, but on the other hand, it would have been nice for the kids (and parents!) to have air conditioned fields for the Pop Warner leagues.

[AZPam]

I think this might affect the team more than they realize. Living together, eating together and being away from family during training camp allows them to focus on the game. I think there will be too much outside distractions that might affect them and their focus.