Cowboys brass would be very interested in hosting the combine should it move from IndianpolisGETTY IMAGES
The Cowboys believe their dream of hosting the NFL Combine "is becoming more realistic" after hosting this year's Draft and this week's opening of the Baylor, Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research at The Star, according to Drew Davison of the Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM. Cowboys Exec VP & Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Jerry Jones Jr. this week at the opening of the Star facility said, "I believe we can have the Combine here. Was that the reason for this to be built? Not at all. But as you sit there and think about what are the possibilities if you do build it, there's no question that's on the radar." Davison noted Indianapolis has hosted the Combine since '87, and the NFL and the city "have an agreement to keep it there" through at least '20. However, the NFL "could start moving it around much like it has with the NFL Draft." Frisco "makes sense as a destination for it with the Ford Center now coupled with what is expected to become a leading sports medical facility." Jones said, "Everything you've heard is, 'Why Indianapolis?' We all go there and we know how cold it is. You could pick a nicer place to go as far as that time of year. Here we are in the coldest part of the year, February, doing the Combine and why are we not doing it in L.A. or Orlando? Well, Indy has the medical facilities around Lucas Oil Stadium. That's what really impacts it the most. With this facility right here, it addresses those issues" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 6/21).
KEEP THINGS AS THEY ARE: NBCSN's Mike Florio said coaches and scouts would "prefer to stay in Indianapolis for a variety of reasons." Florio: "It's very convenient, everything is packed close together, they have the hospitals in close driving distance, and there are hundreds of players there who need to get check out. It can all be done. You go to a place like L.A., you go to a place like Dallas and everything is more spread out, and it becomes unfamiliar, less efficient, more frustrating, and it becomes more of a problem." He added, "That said, the NFL realizes that a lot more money can be made off of the scouting combine if they would get it out of Indianapolis, and I have a feeling, just as they realized the draft can move, the combine will eventually move, as well" ("PFT," NBCSN, 6/22).
