The Saints are traveling to California for training camp this summer as they “plan on renovating the team’s practice facility," an update that includes a "makeover of the cafeteria,” according to Matthew Paras of the New Orleans ADVOCATE. The cafeteria’s renovation is notable because the space has been "widely panned over the last two years” in a player-driven survey conducted by the NFLPA. This year, the franchise’s cafeteria “received an ‘F’ and ranked 30th league wide.” However, Saints President Dennis Lauscha said that the upgrades “aren’t related to the union’s report card.” Lauscha said the changes have "zero" to do with the feedback. He added, “It’s nothing against their survey, but we had it on the books for a while to improve our cafeteria, improve the cooking area” (New Orleans ADVOCATE, 3/26).
CHANGES COMING: Chiefs owner Clark Hunt stressed that he “understands the importance of improving the Chiefs’ facilities.” THE ATHLETIC’s Taylor & Kahler noted less than a month ago, a “sizable number of Chiefs players from last year’s team gave him an F-minus” -- the “lowest grade for an owner, based on his willingness to invest in the facilities” -- in the NFLPA’s annual team report cards. The Chiefs will now “add an air conditioning system" to their training facility, part of an “ongoing upgrade to the facility, which is projected to be completed by early September." Clark said that the Chiefs will have a “new, more expansive cafeteria inside the facility." He expects “other major changes to the facility, too, although he declined to share details.” Taylor & Kahler noted the “most damning information" from the Chiefs’ report card was the players’ “complaints about the facility’s outdated locker room, the place where they spend hours, sometimes six days a week.” The report said that players “believed the locker room would be renovated after the 2022 season and before the start of last season,” though that promise was "not kept by Hunt and the Chiefs.” Hunt “denied that part of the report.” He said he spoke to “some of our veteran players about that, and they’ve confirmed to me that it was miscommunication.” He added, “Certainly, I personally never said anything to them about a renovation of the locker room. It was a misunderstanding” (THE ATHLETIC, 3/26).
PLAN IN PLACE: In Boston, Nicole Yang noted the Patriots' "worst marks" on the NFLPA team report cards were for treatment of families, which got an F-minus and ranked 30th; and weight room, which got an F and ranked 32nd. Patriots owner Robert Kraft “laid out an early proposal to rectify some of those issues.” Kraft said, “I was unaware of how bad that was. We’ve had a plan that we put in place where we’re committing to a whole new facility adjacent to ours. That has been discussed with the leadership team and a building that will be in excess of $50 million.” Kraft: “We have to correct everything. I was not aware of the day-care issue. I mean, that’s something that’s fixable. The players are the heart and soul of the business. I’d be very surprised if that didn’t improve. That was done during the fifth week of the season” (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/26).
