Jets to stay in NJ for training camp
The New York Jets became the second team to cancel an out-of-town training camp because of the lockout.
The Jets announced Friday they will conduct their training camp at their facility in New Jersey and not at SUNY-Cortland in central New York, where they trained the past two summers.
Baltimore announced the same decision this week, electing to remain at the Ravens' complex rather than hold camp at Winchester, Md. Both moves were dictated by the owners' lockout of the players, now in its fourth month.
Training camps open in late July. Although the owners and the players association have acknowledged progress in recent meetings, the Jets and Ravens felt they couldn't delay a decision on staging training camp any longer.
''With all the variables presented by this unique offseason, we felt it was best for the Jets that we hold our training camp here at our practice facility,'' general manager Mike Tannenbaum said. ''This was not an easy decision, but it's one we felt we needed to make in order to give us the best chance to win.''
He added the Jets plan to train in Cortland in 2012. SUNY-Cortland president Erik Bitterbaum said the university will get an extra year tacked on to the agreement with the team for the loss of this camp, meaning the Jets also will be in Cortland in 2013.
''That's positive,'' Bitterbaum said. ''They have a framework (for a settlement), but it's going to take time. With free agency, to get everybody up here and everything they're going to run out of time.''
The Jets were featured in the popular HBO series ''Hard Knocks'' during last year's camp in Cortland, about 30 miles south of Syracuse .
''We are disappointed, but we understand why the Jets management made this decision, and we're looking forward to hosting the team next year,'' Bitterbaum said. ''Our partnership remains strong, and we will continue to support the team as enthusiastic Jets fans.''
Clay Hampton, the Jets' senior director of operations, cited logistics for the decision to remain at the Florham Park facility.
''Training camp is a collaborative effort that requires many different departments to work together to be successful,'' he said, ''and staying at our facility gives us the best chance to accomplish that goal. This is a new operation, but with the template we have in place from OTAs and minicamps, we are prepared for this scenario.''
In previous years, the Jets have held offseason workouts, minicamps and training camp practices in Florham Park.
Fifteen NFL teams held training camps at locations other than their regular-season facilities in 2010. Several have indicated they need an end to the labor impasse by early July to return to those out-of-town venues. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said in May that a settlement by July 4 was critical to whether the team returns to Anderson, Ind.
The Jets will invite Cortland staff members and Cortland alumni to events at the New Jersey site, and will extend their internship program for Cortland students with interest in working at training camp. Tannenbaum even reached out to a local eatery in Cortland.
He dialed up Mark Braun, who owns Doug's Fish Fry, located a half-mile from the college's entrance. His small restaurant has become something of a home base for the team's fan club and a hot spot for fans, media and players. Braun was invited to cater for the players one day at the Florham Park training camp.
''Mike Tannenbaum personally called me at about quarter to 10,'' Braun said. ''He said, 'Mark, I've got good news and bad news. We're not coming back.'
''As a fan, of course I'm going to miss it, but I kind of expected it, I guess,'' said Braun, a Jets season ticket-holder for more than a decade. ''But he said he appreciated all my support and did invite us to cater for the team when the labor dispute gets resolved. I don't really understand the labor dispute to get angry. I was so in awe that he called me. I'm just a little restaurant owner.''
---
AP Sports Writer John Kekis in Pittsford, N.Y., contibuted to this story.