Senator Charles E. Schumer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 10, 2010

IN PERSONAL CALL, SCHUMER URGES GIANTS OWNER TO KEEP 2010 TRAINING CAMP IN ALBANY GIANTS HAVE SUCCESSFULLY HELD TRAINING CAMP ON UALBANY'S FIRST-CLASS CAMPUS SINCE 96' SEASON

Location is Good for Both Capital Region and Giants; Facility, Located Away From Red Hot NYC Spotlight, Promotes Team Bonding

Last Training Season Ended Without Agreement to Return to Albany This Summer

University at Albany Has Been Working With Giants Throughout the Winter - But No Commitment Has Been Made Yet

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that, in a personal phone call, he urged the owner of the New York Giants, John Mara, to keep the team’s offseason training camp in Albany, New York. Schumer made the call after last training season ended without a commitment to return the following summer – the first time that has happened.

In past seasons the Giants have signed a deal to return by the end of the training season. Schumer also was concerned that the Giants would decide to spend the summer at the new training facility near the Giants’ Meadowland Stadium. Schumer stressed to Mara that having the isolated and away from the red hot NYC media spotlight, and away from home, for a couple weeks each summer has built the morale, camaraderie and team bonding so critical to success in the NFL. Schumer said that the University at Albany and the Giants had been in discussions all winter and that many of the hurdles had been cleared, and that Schumer’s call was meant to push the deal over the goal line. Schumer and Mara had a positive conversation during which Mara expressed good sentiments about Albany and the team’s experience there over the last 13 years, and said he was close to making a decision.

““When I was a kid my favorite Roosevelts were Brown and Grier. And I have been an avid fan ever since. Nothing made me happier than seeing the Giants win the Super Bowl a few years ago, and I am confident that Albany will play a role in returning the Giants to their rightful place as champions,” said Schumer. “Holding the training camp in Albany is good for both the Giants’ morale and cohesion and the local economy. What’s more, the training camp has become one of the favorite ways for Capital Region families to spend a summer day and, quite frankly, it is the Giants last physical link to New York State.”

The New York Giants have been practicing at the University of Albany’s campus since the Dan Reeves era and the facility has benefited both the team and the region. Schumer said that Upstate New York has helped all of New York’s teams build cohesion and prepare for the bruising battle of an NFL season. Each year, thousands of fans come to the University of Albany’s campus to watch their Giants and pump money into the local economy. Schumer stressed that their training camp in Albany was the Giants last physical connection to New York, which is just one more reason to return next summer.

Prior to the 1996 season, the New York Giants held their annual summer training camp at Farleigh Dickson University’s campus in Madison, New Jersey. This past season has shown the benefits of having camp in Upstate New York. This year, fans packed into the training camp at a record pace. On one day in late August, over 46,000 Giant fans set an attendance record for Giants training camp. The previous record was also set at the U of Albany’s campus in 2004. At the end of training camp in 2009, Coach Tom Coughlin called training in the Cap Region “a really positive thing.”

Schumer added, “We’ve now got all of our New York teams training in Upstate and I’m committed to keeping it that way. Anything we can do to keep the fans and money pouring in is a score in my book.”

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