Ravens May Not Hold Training Camp In Westminster! Say It Isn't So!

[gabefergy]

Thanks for the update True. Very sad IMO, but understandable. The new CBA is clearly the culprit.

[Marc2k6]

Whoa! That was fast, game over!©™

[Indestructible]

What a crappy move. One of the coolest and most looked-forward to parts of the summer for many fans (myself included) was to go and get an up-close look at the players we see on the tv throughout the season, and the new players we are eagerly waiting to see. In this economy, when many families cannot afford to shell out the hundreds of dollars to go see ONE home game, let alone buy season tickets... its the only opportunity to go see our team. If its not for money, then what is it? We won a championship and have been a top tier team for years, so don't tell me its better for the team to be able to prepare.. Maybe its an inconveniene for the team, but so be it. Even if we don't buy tickets, we still shell out good money for the jerseys, hats, etc. You can deal with a small inconvenience for 3 weeks over the summer. If you ask me, they came to Westminster back in 96 as a way to connect with the fans. They now feel like they "own" this town and don't have to bother with it. What a classless move, especially coming from an owner who once said he "cherished the tradition".

[Bucky]

This is very disappointing.

[Marc2k6]

This blows harder than a hurricane! I guess I can say whatever is best for the team but I'm not feeling this at all.

[Twistidfunk]

people need to relax. I am sure they will have something in store for the kids and probably have it at M&T is my hunch

[MsMarvel73]

They've officially announced it. They're not going to Westminster next year.

[DMH_in_WA]

From everything I read, the new facility is better in almost every way for getting the team prepared to play. So the question with all the "bad PR" talk and "I won't get to go to a game" talk I have: is this about you and a relatively small number of fans who got to go to training camp and watch them or is this about putting the absolutely best team they can be on the field and winning?

I understand it's a tradition and some people are going to lose out on something they love doing, but is it about you or is it about the Ravens (and all that entails)? You want to talk about new fan base? I sat here when they came out to play the Seahawks and I was AMAZED at the number of people wearing the Purple and Black. From 5 year old little guys in Rice jersey's and Ravens' knit caps to 80 year old guys in Ravens jackets who were born and raised in WA (I'm Baltimore born and raised).

Bottom line, you put a highly competitive team on the field and you win, the fans will come. Not because they get to go watch pre-season, but because you are an elite team in the NFL.

[Hardbaugh]

This move is so [u]Oriole like[/u] . I would not expect a classy organization like the Ravens to do something negative to the fanbase but it's done. All the sugar coating won't hide the fact that it negatively impacts the fans of this team and does nothing to help wins and losses. I just don't buy it..... to me it says show up on game day, buy our overpriced pre season tickets and concessions but leave us alone if you're not willing to pay .

[Natty Boh]

I can understand the frustration from fans who go to the practices. With that being said, I could care less myself. I don't go to practices and have never planned to. I'm one of those people who thinks autographs are silly but again...I don't condemn people who live for that stuff and I realize people go to practices for more than just that.

[Maryland1]

[quote name='Hardbaugh' timestamp='1322876933' post='892788']
[color=#ff0000]This move is so [u]Oriole like[/u][/color] . I would not expect a classy organization like the Ravens to do something negative to the fanbase but it's done. All the sugar coating won't hide the fact that it negatively impacts the fans of this team and does nothing to help wins and losses. I just don't buy it..... to me it says show up on game day, buy our overpriced pre season tickets and concessions but leave us alone if you're not willing to pay .
[/quote]

???

The Orioles spent $31.2 million renovating Ed Smith stadium and their new spring training complex last year and hold FanFest every January.

[jaege]

This guy, a talk show "personality" from 105.7 , in my opinion is annoying anyway, but this evening he graduated to complete idiot. He is just whining on and on about the Ravens not using the Westminster site any longer. Cry me a river already. He said that their reasons of wanting a more technological advanced site is BS since he can do anything on his I-phone. He suggests that they are uppity and snobbish because they are tired of using an ancient run down facility that uses trailers for meeting rooms and a Best western for accommodations.

So he thinks that a multi-million dollar company like the Ravens should use I-phones as their techno devices for meetings and sharing information etc? Seriously?

I am not wealthy and Best Western is not good enough for me, so I sure can't see a guy making the kind of money that a Raven makes wanting to stay there. Personally I will shell out a few extra bucks and stay at a Marriot or Hilton, somewhere nice.

Trailers for meeting rooms? And they are being uppity?

Come on. They want something a bit more modern and upscale. This is the 21st century after all, so that is not such an unusual desire.

[gabefergy]

The thing is, almost every NFL team has an off-site training camp for fans to be able to take part in the experience. Its been a Baltimore football tradition for 50 years to have camp in Westminster. It didnt stop the team from having success earlier and there is no significant evidence to suggest having TC away from the Castle will negatively effect the team's performance. Its a bad PR move and the explanation just doesnt cut it for me. I honestly cant believe there is any difference in preparation that can take place, its just a matter of being more comfortable and having "state of the art" facilities.

[Marc2k6]

The Ravens just gave us fans a bunch of lame excuses!

[Marc2k6]

[quote name='Twistidfunk' timestamp='1322861393' post='892634']
people need to relax. I am sure they will have something in store for the kids and probably have it at M&T is my hunch
[/quote]

M&T is not the same feel!

[BenDufusberger]

Right now , with the Ravens virtually a lock for the playoffs , they're safe in dishing out all manners of abuse to the fans. A few years from now , maybe sooner , the Ravens won-loss record might be flipped around from what it is now , and they might wonder where everyone went.

Years ago , after the baseball strike , I gave up my season ticket plan when the Orioles jacked prices way up in an attempt to recover revenue losses related to the strike. I haven't looked back since. Revenues went up in the years after the strike , so they didn't miss me or others like me , but what about now , and in the future ? Speaking for myself , the Orioles have seen their last dime from me. If there are enough people like me around , it necessarily means their potential revenue base is smaller than it would have been had they shown a little more consideration for the fans.

As a group , sports team owners and management speak much like politicians - they recite the standard lines about how they have the greatest fans in the world , and how much they value their support , and then they take actions that are completely contrary to their words. When you've seen this enough times , you begin to recognize the pattern , and the words don't fool you any more - if you have half a brain , that is.

Luckily for politicians and sports team owners , there's plenty of people around that fall short of that 50% requirement.

[LouieDaLug]

The NFL is not a sports league. It's a billion dollar a year corporation. The Ravens just sold there soul to the devil like every other corporation in America has done and will continue to do until the people rise and say "Enough Already".

Very disappointed in a guy who I thought was not the typical billionaire. I thought Steve Biscotti was different, I thought he had a soul, but instead we discover his soul has been replaced by the corporate vacuum cleaner..take, take, take, take, take and keep taking until there's nothing left to take.

It's a huge load of cow dung being floated that the Ravens will somehow be "better" practicing at the closed facility vs. Westminster. The players hated it, I know, the Ravens staff hated it, I know, everyone in the organization didn't enjoy the hassle of going to Westminister.

So now, we expect 16-0, and a Super Bowl appearance every year given the logic used by the Ravens...

And it was disgusting to see Biscotti CYA by giving the impression that because Ozzie recommended this, he was bound by what Ozzie and control freak Harbaugh wanted. The owner of the team could have simply said.

"I know it's huge PIA to go to Westminster, but our fans deserve it and were gonna keep the tradition.

Instead, Steve Biscotti hid under the skirts of his GM and HC.

The only people who really enjoyed going to Westminister were the ones paying the freight, the fans, but, as we have seen in corporate America, the ones paying the freight don't matter. There interests always are dead last in the equation.

How can we make things easier for us is the corporate mantra, how can we make things more cushy for ourselves, the corporate titans say and then they go take a dump on those who buy their products and then flush with the 24 karat gold plated handle.

Disgusting

[EternalRavensDefense]

I got to laugh at all the people here who are calling the Ravens the devil and whining about this. The Ravens do not have any obligation to actually go to Westminster and interact with the fans. That was never stated in any intent or letter. That was a goodwill gesture by the Ravens to get to know the fans and allow them to see the players. The fact that the Ravens were even willing to do that should tell you that they value the fans. The Ravens have constanly interacted with the community, praise the fans, and build a contender year in and out in order to appease the fans. Now, because the Ravens want to use their state of the art facility with all the advantage that they have instead of using trailers and having to play in the heat at Westminster, people are going crazy. You do know that with the new CBA, practice would be limited far greatly than it ever has and you would barely see the players anyway. It is not like going to Westminster would be the same anymore. The time are changing people. Training camp is not going to be the same anymore.

[H8R]

Yea, he went too far. He's a babbling fool most of the time. It will be sad to know its not coming back, but if it really does help the team.... I'm for it

[D-Rey]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1322880574' post='892826']
The thing is, almost every NFL team has an off-site training camp for fans to be able to take part in the experience. Its been a Baltimore football tradition for 50 years to have camp in Westminster. It didnt stop the team from having success earlier and there is no significant evidence to suggest having TC away from the Castle will negatively effect the team's performance. Its a bad PR move and the explanation just doesnt cut it for me. I honestly cant believe there is any difference in preparation that can take place, its just a matter of being more comfortable and having "state of the art" facilities.
[/quote]
A better facility can help the team. Better equipment is always better. The team performing best they can is the most important thing.

[Guest DrVenture45]

Glen Youness is as entitled to his opinion as any other sports radio personality, the thing is he's more counter point than point. I thinks it nothing more than a ploy to get listeners aggitated enough to call in. He's got to have a purpose to stay on, even if it is generally negative.

I don't know if it really matters if the Ravens stay at the Owings Mills training facility; tradition not withstanding. As long as they keep me entertained on the field that matters most, so be it. It's not as if other opportunities to meet and greet players don't exist.

[JohnJohnson]

I agree with the OP, people should stop whining about it. Not all Ravens fans go to training camp, and they still hold open practices at M&T sometimes. It's just a hassle for the team and not really the best use of time if they're trying to compete at the highest level under the new CBA (no more two a days).

[Ravenseconbeast]

He talks and whine 90% of the time his on air that not sports-related, then when he finally talks about sports its something he has PMS about. Dont worry, he wont on the radio much longer. No one listens to him anyhow.

[Moderator 2]

Here is a [url="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/06/25/off-site-training-camps-make-more-sense-than-ever-this-year/"]PFT article[/url] about more teams staying home for TC and according to this [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Training_camp_%28National_Football_League%29"]Wiki article [/url]
looks to be about half the teams stay at the facilities. With the new CBA I expect more to do the same. I am not happy about this but I think it is the way things are now.

[jimmypowder]

I would take my son and son in law out to Westmister once or twice each summer . We really liked getting to see the players up close .

Afterwards, we would hit a restaurant for some beers and food . It was a fun time and we avidly
discuss who was looking good over a few beers .

Don't most or all Nfl teams have off site training
Camps for fans ? I really have no idea . If most do
this move is a real anti-fan maneuver .

[jaege]

Any corporation, [u]ANY corporation[/u] that can afford it, will want a state of the art facility. And why should they not have one? You wouldnt cathc me within a mile of a Best Western, myself. I like 1st class accommodations, and am willing to pay for them and I do not make the kind of money that a Raven does.

From the posts here it seems as though comfort and advanced technology is some sort of evil thing. I am sure everyone here complaining sits on hard wooden crates exposed to the weather when they watch the game, right? You guys do not have any creature comforts, right? And I bet you watch the game on little 20 inch black and white TVs and drink warm beer and stale chips. No "Redzone' no HD, no comfy sofa, no refrigerator, no comfort or technology at all?

I highly doubt that the team is doing this to punish the fans in any way. They want superior training facilities so that they can do what it is they are paid to do, win games.


Get over yourselves. Everything is not about you.

[BigMike]

I can understand why the Ravens want to stay at the castle. However, can they expand the facility in some fashion that would allow them to hold open practice a few times during training camp?? Just wondering.

[teamfan]

I think it's the biggest kick in the teeth an owner has inflicted since the Baltimore Colts being kidnapped and taken out of town in the middle of the night.

Just this past summer during the strike, Steve Biscotti gave an interview and said that training camp in Westminster was one of his greatest memories growing up when he got to meet Johnny Unitas. He said they would NEVER stop coming here for training camp. Well folks we have been lied to once again.

What are we fans to the team and the front office? John Harbaugh has often said the fans in the stands are the 13th player and are a great asset to the team. Maybe ONLY those who can afford tickets and attend the games are the only fans that are important. Those of us that have grown up going to the training camp and now take our grandchildren there but can't afford to go to the games are so appreciative that there is somewhere like the camp to go. We have been LOYAL fans for years from the Colts to the Ravens and it seems that doesn't count for much.

Question....Kevin Byrne wrote that the main reason to move training camp was that the team played so much better against the Steelers this season so don't change what works. Tell me this....how did the Ravens win their last SUPER BOWL after having trained at camp in Westminster that year? His theory doesn't fly.

"Play Like a Raven" just doesn't seem to carry the same enthusiasm for me now since Biscotti and those in on the decision to move training camp have treated us "like the Colts" leaving town. It's thoughtless and disgusting.

Sooooooo disappointed in management that made this decision and the timing stinks. Why not wait until the season is over to tell us.