The Ravens yesterday announced that they will move their training camp from McDaniel College to their year-round HQs in Owings Mills, Md., citing uncertainty about when the NFL lockout will end. The Ravens to date have held all 15 of their training camps at the college in Westminster, Md., and the team has already begun discussions with the school to return for future camps. The Ravens' lease agreement with Baltimore County does not allow for fans to attend practices at Owings Mills (Ravens). Ravens Senior VP/Public & Community Relations Kevin Byrne said that the team "set cutoff dates for May and June that were missed because of the lockout." In Baltimore, Murray & Branch note when the labor situation "remained unchanged through Tuesday's meeting of NFL owners, the Ravens reached the end of their wait." McDaniel "drew an estimated 112,000 fans to Ravens' practices" last year. Admission cost $20 per person, and Westminster Economic Development Administrator Stan Ruchlewicz estimated that the camp had an "economic impact of over" $2M. But Cammy Hipp, GM of the Best Western hotel that the Ravens used to house their players during training camp, said that she "recognized the Ravens were 'definitely trying' to be fair after missing several deadlines on extending their contract with McDaniel." Ravens President Dick Cass said that it is the team's "intention to return to Westminster in 2012." Murray & Branch also report the Ravens "will try to take at least one practice, if not more," to M&T Bank Stadium, and "all practices will be free to the public" (Baltimore SUN, 6/23).
FIRST SHOE TO DROP: USA TODAY's Nate Davis notes "several other NFL teams that train out of their home city during the summer could be forced to make similar decisions in coming weeks." The Vikings earlier this month "set a July 18 deadline to determine whether they will be able to hold camp in Mankato, Minn., as they've done for more than 40 years" (USA TODAY, 6/23).
