Bon Secours Health System "will be the main sponsor of a $10 million training camp facility for the Washington Redskins to be built on state land behind the Science Museum of Virginia," according to a front-page piece by Robert Zullo of the RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH. Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones yesterday said, "This is going to be a first-class facility that will not only offer professional-level playing fields, but it's also going to incorporate health and wellness services that are going to be provided by Bon Secours." While Jones said that many details "remain to be ironed out, the training camp's fields and facilities will be available for city residents to use when the camp is not in session." He added that though the team "will need total use of the facility about six weeks of the year, year-round sports medicine, men's health and fitness facilities are planned for the site, which will be called the Bon Secours Training Center." The city of Richmond will "obtain a lease for the land from the state, then make a loan through the city's Economic Development Authority to jump-start construction, which needs to begin almost immediately to have the site ready for next summer, the Redskins' first year in Richmond." The team is "committed to an eight-year agreement to hold the three-week camp in the city as part of an economic incentive deal with the state" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 10/23).
CHANGE OF SCENERY: In DC, Mike Jones notes the Redskins "have held training camp" at their Ashburn, Va., HQs since '02, but "have sought a location in the region that would allow them to get away for the three-week training session." Coach Mike Shanahan has said that he "prefers getting away from the team facility for camp, a move he believes helps eliminate distractions for players and helps the team bond" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/23).
