For the better part of the past decade, the Saints have held their annual training camp at home, meaning a crowd of roaring fans whenever they allow for it.
This time, though, consistent record-breaking heat has made those practices feel a lot more about survival than anything else. That goes for the fans, players and media. Reports this week have indicated that the team is considering moving things out of Metairie, though head coach Dennis Allen contended with the idea that it'd be due to heat.
“I don’t think the heat is really the big factor. We’ve got an indoor facility that we can work out in," Allen said after Monday's practice. "I think there’s potential for us to be doing some renovations on the facility. Nothing has been determined. Nothing is set in stone. But yet it’s something that we might consider.”
Regardless, the news comes on the heels of multiple changes to the open practice schedule. The first change was to increase the team's time spent outside at the start of practice, knocking down the time spent outdoors in front of fans to roughly an hour. The second change was the decision to cancel the final fan-attended practice, with the team expecting to be inside for the day's work.
Multiple fans had to be treated for heat-related symptoms at practice this offseason.
Allen also contended that it wasn't injury-related, and soft tissue injuries were actually down across the board.
“You’re going to have soft tissue injuries. It’s training camp," he said. "You’ve got to be able to get your work done and there’s a lot of work that has to be done. So, it’s part of it, and we’re trying to minimize it the best that we can.”
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Still, whether the move is prompted by renovation, heat or injuries, the result would be the same. The question then becomes: Where does it go. There are multiple options based on the team's history, but WWL's Bobby Hebert points to the one factor that has to change.
“As long as you go in a different environment … you’ve got to go where it’s truly, you’re not dealing with the heat," Hebert said.
For example, even without giving details, Allen seemed to agree with that assessment when asked about possible locations: "Not Millsaps," he said, referencing the Jackson, Mississippi college where the Saints held camp from 2006-'08.
The most obvious option would be the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, where the team held camp from 2014-'16. What ultimately did that location in was the three 7-9 seasons the team muddled through after being there. Hebert also suggested Lacrosse, Wisconsin, another former Saints camp destination.
"The bottom line, if you change the environment, you’ve got to win," Hebert said, "or people will obviously take a look at that as a reason why you didn’t have success.”
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