Raiders President Marc Badain said that he "wants to bring" the team's training camp to the "Reno area when the team officially moves out of the Bay Area" before the '20 NFL season, according to Colton Lochhead of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Badain: "I am committed to trying to make sure the training camp is in Northern Nevada." A group of team officials and politicians "toured" three potential training camp sites Thursday, including the Univ. of Nevada, Earl Wooster High School and Procter R. Hug High School. While Badain is "set on having the Raiders in Northern Nevada," the sites explored "might not be the only places the team considers" for its Nevada training ground. Badain said that the team "checked out about three dozen offseason camp locations" in the mid-'90s before deciding on Napa, Calif. If the Raiders decide to spend their summer practices in Reno, they will have to "pay for upgrades or remodels they may want done to meet the team's needs" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 8/17). In Las Vegas, Mick Akers notes Raiders Owner Mark Davis has "previously expressed the importance" of holding training camp outside of Sin City because it "helps with team bonding and limits distractions." The Raiders have held camp in Napa since '96, after "relocating back to Oakland" in '95. If a site is "agreed upon, upgrades would be needed to bring the facility up to NFL standards." Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve, who also toured the potential sites, said that all necessary improvements would be "paid for by the Raiders" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 8/17).
LOGISTICAL HEADACHES: In Reno, James DeHaven notes Badain "did not provide a specific time frame" for picking a training camp site. Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak, who is now running for Nevada governor, said, "City money is not on the table. The Raiders are a big revenue source and there's also sponsorship opportunities that come with a training camp." Univ. of Nevada President Marc Johnson said that there are still some "potential logistical headaches." Johnson: "Right now the dorms are at 120 percent capacity. If we had to do dorms clear into September, we're not going to have anything in September." Sisolak estimated that the Raiders would need 250 of Nevada's 3,400 campus beds for a three-week period during the "hectic run-up to the start of fall semester" (RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, 8/17). Also in Reno, Chris Murray wrote in the "perfect scenario," Nevada would "get an indoor practice facility out of a partnership" with the Raiders if the team decides to hold its training camp at the university. But the more "realistic version of the partnership" would see Wolf Pack Park turn two of its FieldTurf fields into grass fields, stands would be added around those fields and a "two-story office/meeting room facility would be added near Mackay Stadium" (RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, 8/14).
