Jets Eye Training Camp Move One Year After Opening New Facility

Jets' Current Practice Facility Doesn't Have  Dorms For Players Or Bleachers For Fans

Just one year after the Jets opened the $75M Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey, they are "planning to hold their training camp at another location," according to Sarah Schillaci of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. New Jets coach Rex Ryan Friday indicated that he is looking for alternative training camp locations for this season, and has "reportedly narrowed his choices to several upstate New York schools," including Cornell Univ. and SUNY Cortland. The Atlantic Health center "does not have dormitories for players nor bleacher seating for fans, two factors that may have worked against" the facility. New Jersey state Sen. Richard Codey expressed his disappointment in the news, saying the deal the Jets signed with the NJSEA was "always with the understanding that they would have summer camp on the grounds in Florham Park." Codey: "It's a great site to build up a great fan base in New Jersey. Taking camp somewhere other than Florham Park, that is a mistake." Officials from Atlantic Health, which acquired naming rights for the facility last year, did not comment (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 3/28).

LEAVING ON A JETS PLANE: Jets Senior Dir of Media Relations Bruce Speight Friday in a statement said that Ryan is "looking to go elsewhere to build team unity." Speight: "Coach Ryan is looking to find a more isolated environment for training camp to promote team-building and we are researching potential locations. However, any plans will also include community events at our Atlantic Health Jets Training Center and in Long Island prior to the start of the regular season." The Jets contend that the "potential move is not because the New Jersey facility cannot handle training camp logistically; it's that Ryan simply wants to get away." On Long Island, Erik Boland noted the Jets opened the Atlantic Health center last year after holding training camp at Hofstra Univ. for 40 years, and a return to the school is not expected (NEWSDAY, 3/28). In N.Y., Bill Maddon wrote Jets Owner Woody Johnson is "prepared to allow Ryan to talk him into spending money" to hold training camp at a different site, and these are "not inexpensive ventures for an owner who felt compelled, and should now rescind, the two-week unpaid furloughs he forced on 60 employees this summer to save him money" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/29).