Richmond Economic Development Authority Chair Richard Johnson yesterday said the group is in "an advanced state of negotiations" with SMG Richmond to manage the 40,000-square-foot Bon Secours Redskins Training Center and adjacent park, according to Michael Martz of the RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH. The authority "did not undertake a formal competitive bidding process for the management contract." However, Johnson said it spoke to "a number of parties" as potential managers before settling on SMG. Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones' Press Secretary Tammy Hawley said a formal RFP is not required by law because the authority "can enter directly into contracts." Martz noted Bon Secours Richmond Health System is the "chief sponsor of the camp and chief tenant of the center under a complex economic development deal approved by City Council in late December." The hospital system will "lease space in the center for a sports medicine and men’s health facility, as well as a primary care clinic" (TIMESDISPATCH.com, 7/29).
HAPPY CAMPERS? In K.C., Adam Teicher notes the Chiefs, "four seasons into a five-year contract to hold training camp at Missouri Western State University, will soon have to make a decision on whether to continue heading north for the summer." Chiefs Chair & CEO Clark Hunt yesterday said, "Personally, I like the team going away and the bonding that takes place in the three or four weeks they're together here. What we have here at Missouri Western is as good as any training facility in the National Football League." But the decision is "more involved than that, and the wishes of coach Andy Reid might carry the most weight." Reid has said that he "likes bringing a team away from its own practice facility for training camp" (K.C. STAR, 7/30).
