The NFL Cardinals will hold their training camp at the Univ. of Phoenix Stadium “for the first time since moving to Arizona" in '88, according to Craig Morgan of FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com. The team will be “using its home field for all practices that will be open to the public,” after previously holding camp at Northern Arizona Univ. in Flagstaff "every year but one.” Cardinals President Michael Bidwill said that the team was “not able to work out an agreement with NAU to continue that tradition.” Bidwill said, “The facilities that NAU had moved us into over the last couple of years were completely substandard for a professional football team, and we were paying big rent up there.” He added, "I was not going to let the team be at a competitive disadvantage by continuing to use those facilities." The Cardinals are “building an indoor facility at their Tempe headquarters, but that is not likely to be completed in time for camp.” Bidwill said 20 of 32 NFL teams hold training camp at home "so this is not something that's new or different." The team and the city of Glendale “are still in negotiations over a long-term agreement” (FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com, 6/11). Bidwill “believes training at home will make practices more accessible for fans.” He said, "There's 4.3 million who live here in the Valley and not all of those people can afford to take the time off or to drive up (to Flagstaff) and spend the night. It's free, it's free parking. It's air conditioned. Be able to catch a practice in the afternoon and not have to drive out of town." In Phoenix, Kent Somers notes it is unclear “where players and coaches will conduct meetings that were usually held in classrooms at NAU” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/12).
