The New Orleans Saints will be holding their 2024 training camps in sunny Southern California at UC Irvine’s facilities. This is primarily due to the facility upgrades currently taking place for the Saints, including the cafeteria upgrade among other renovations.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen addressed the pros and cons of moving the training camp to the Los Angeles area in his opening press conference on Tuesday, specifically the lack of fans’ presence and how their impact will be missed.
“Obviously, being away from home and away from our fans in New Orleans, obviously that’s the tough part about being out here in California for this training camp,” Allen said.
However, he went on to list a group of positive changes as well with this decision, discussing the weather and facilities setup for the team as both being helpful for these types of events. He also specifically said he looks forward to “what we can accomplish” while working in a more mild climate, feeling his coaches can better push their players without worrying so much about overheating.
“I think when you get in this type of environment, one of the things it allows you to do is push the guys harder for longer,” Allen continued. “There’s nothing easy about training camp. And certainly there’s a toughness that comes with practicing in the environment we practice at back home in Metairie. But there’s also a challenge that comes along with that, where you reach the point of diminishing marginal returns in terms of practicing out there in the heat and humidity. I’m excited about seeing how our guys respond out here.”
Ultimately, the move to Irvine is one that looks to be a short-term event to allow for the renovations to take place. Additionally, the Saints will be having joint practices with the San Francisco 49ers for three days at UC Irvine, with the first session taking place on Aug. 15. Ultimately this could be a good chance to get the Saints into competition mode a little bit quicker as it has in the past with previous joint practices.
