Cardinals execs are “staring at dwindling options for training camp after Northern Arizona University quietly nixed efforts to keep the NFL team’s preseason workouts in Flagstaff,” according to Paul Giblin of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The Cardinals are “negotiating with Glendale officials to relocate their training camp to the West Valley, but negotiations are moving slowly.” Meanwhile, the team with camp four months away “must find an interim training site.” The Cardinals “had conducted training camp under the pines at NAU nearly every year since the franchise arrived in Arizona 25 years ago, but that option is no longer available.” NAU Public Affairs Dir Tom Bauer said that after the school “rescinded the three-year proposal” to keep the team, “either the Cardinals or political interests in Flagstaff requested a one-year extension for the Cardinals at NAU.” But Bauer added that NAU President John Haeger “rejected the request on Monday.” Bauer said that NAU officials “understood that the request for a one-year extension came from the Cardinals.” Cardinals VP/Media Relations Mark Dalton said that team execs “believe that the request was made by Flagstaff political interests who were trying to broker a compromise.” The Glendale proposal calls for the team to “conduct camp at University of Phoenix Stadium and the nearby Youth Sports Complex in Glendale.” Negotiations “are ongoing.” Glendale has “not yet scheduled a vote on the camp matter.” Dalton said that the Cardinals “hope to sew up a deal with Glendale soon, but the team has other options” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/30). An ARIZONA REPUBLIC editorial states there are “many reasons to oppose Glendale’s ridiculous pitch.” However, the fact that the proposal “sidelines youth sports teams for a few weeks is not one of them.” In exchange for “missing out on a few weeks," youth sports teams would get the opportunity to use a $4M "professional-quality training facility for the rest of the year.” It is “a small price to pay” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/1).
