I will always remember making the trips up the I-17 to
Flagstaff in the middle of the unbearable Phoenix summer heat to see the start
of Arizona Cardinals Training Camp. While the drive to Flag is approximately 2 hours,
it goes by very quickly! - Especially if I am behind the wheel! As soon as you
arrive you are taken aback by the plush green landscape and Ponderosa Pine
forests that surround this small town. With a population of around 68,000
people, this city has the feel of a back woods country town when compared to
the concrete jungle of Phoenix that I call home. The best part is walking onto
the fields at Northern Arizona University and seeing so many Cardinals fans,
tailgates, kids throwing footballs, dogs walking the hills with their owners
and you would even run into a player or two on the side fields throwing the
ball around. (I was once able to just walk up to Jay Feely and ask for an
autograph and a picture.) This set up was very intimate and gave everyone that
attended a V.I.P. feel because it was so warm and inviting.
While I was thinking back on those days at Flagstaff, I
started to ask myself why the Cardinals do not have training camps there any
longer. The Arizona Cardinals had held their Training Camps at NAU in Flagstaff
since the team moved to Phoenix in 1988 and it had long since become a tradition
to make the trip for fans. I wanted to find out why that tradition was broken
and why Cards Camp was moved down to University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale
Arizona. This is what I discovered.
Initially, the story was reported that the AZ Cards would
stop holding camp at NAU because the facilities that they used were not
equipped to handle the team’s needs. More specifically, the locker rooms,
training equipment and storage units were inadequate. Team president Michael
Bidwill spoke to the media and said, “The facilities that NAU had moved us into
over the last couple of years were completely substandard for a professional
football team. I was not going to let the team be at a competitive disadvantage
by continuing to use those facilities" (Fox Sports Arizona). However, it
was also reported that the issues were closer related to money than to “substandard”
facilities.
According to Fox Sports Arizona’s Craig Morgan, “The
Cardinals believed they were paying too much for what they were getting.” From
what I understand after reading a few different articles is that the Cardinals
were paying top dollar for the use of NAU to hold Training Camps and when the
time came to negotiate a better deal, things just fell through. Northern
Arizona University flatly turned down a 1-year deal that would have kept the camp
in Flagstaff. The President of the school, John Haeger, was looking for a
longer commitment from the team so the short term proposal from the Cardinals
just wasn’t going to cut it (SB Nation).
The Cardinals were then moved to University of Phoenix Stadium
and hosted their first camp in 2013. UofP Stadium is the Cardinals home field so
the move there was logical. The move provided a closer commute, an air
conditioned field and so many more fans are able to attend practices like the
popular “Red & White Practice”. With regards to the camp now being held at
their home field, Michael Bidwill stated, “We also see it as very important
from a fan engagement perspective and we are committed to making training camp
as enjoyable an experience for fans as we can”(Darren Urban).
There is free admission and free parking for fans, along
with an interactive kid zone, autograph sessions, concessions, plenty of
seating, team shop and more! The Cardinals organization puts on a superb event
for Cards Camp every year at ‘The Nest'.
While many of us can cherish our memories of fun and
football in Flagstaff, one thing is for sure and that is, Cards Camp is the first sign that we are once again ‘Back to football’ folks!
(Here is a little slideshow- I wanted to show some of my personal pictures from Cards Camp in Flagsatff)
