The New Orleans Saints are moving their 2024 training camp to Irvine, California, and their plans for inviting fans to attend practices are still unclear. That ambiguity became a target for NFL Media’s long-running Around the NFL Podcast, where co-host Gregg Rosenthal criticized multiple parties for their approach to the topic.
The Saints are one of five teams holding camp in Southern California this summer, which is the home market of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. NFL marketing rules don’t allow teams to host fan events in competing markets, but while the Dallas Cowboys already have an arrangement and the Las Vegas Raiders are working on one, there hasn’t been much clarity on the topic out of New Orleans.
“The Saints aren’t really answering questions,” Rosenthal began. “And I just feel like going to a training camp is such an outstanding way to grow the support of your team and have young fans go there for nothing, just being around football, having training camps without fans doesn’t feel like training camp at all. And yes I know it’s the Saints in Southern California, how many people are really going to be showing up there every day, I’m sure people would be showing up.
“And so I hope they push to make that happen. I hope it’s not something where either the Rams and Chargers don’t allow it or the teams really don’t even want it, to me that’s not training camp. And if they do keep fans out, fans should let them know. You’re trying to grow your brand. The Raiders have done a great job over that, Saints, you’re trying to grow fans, don’t keep them out.”
One of Rosenthal’s co-hosts, Dan Hanzus, quoted from our article on Saints team president Dennis Lauscha saying that onsite logistics, not NFL marketing rules, were the bigger hurdle to inviting fans for camp this year. And that claim led to derision around the room.
Rosenthal replied: “Okay, I read that too, but I went to multiple great training camps (at UC Irvine) with the Rams. Like my kids had a blast the day they went, and that was the same facility, just saying. It was all happening.”
“With fans,” added co-host Colleen Wolfe, “And they had like food trucks and stuff out there.”
The Rams hosted fans for seven practices at UC Irvine’s campus last summer (and in several years preceding it), all free and open to the public. As is the case in New Orleans, and as Rosenthal noted, these are great opportunities for fans to meet their favorite players and cheer them on at little cost compared to expensive game tickets. The Rams estimated that almost 100,000 fans attended practice at UC Irvine in 2022, so there are clear blueprints for the Saints to work from. They just need to ask the Rams for some tips about where to park the food trucks and fence off the bleachers. Hopefully they’ll do the right thing and invite their West Coast fans out for at least a few days of practice.
